Jason Gillespie: “Babar is a very driven individual. He works so hard on his game; he’s an elite player. A fantastic player, one of the best players I’ve been fortunate enough to work with. I really enjoyed working with him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has heaped praise on Babar Azam, saying the star batsman is “one of the best players I’ve been fortunate enough to work with”.
Gillespie noted that Azam is “very driven” to succeed and “works tirelessly on his game” in order to keep improving.
In addition to focusing on himself, Gillespie confirmed that the 30-year-old also sets a very high standard for his teammates as he wants to see them constantly performing at their best.
“Babar is a very driven individual. He works so hard on his game; he’s an elite player. A fantastic player, one of the best players I’ve been fortunate enough to work with. I really enjoyed working with him. He sets high standards, not only for himself but also for his teammates,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
“It’s almost like he expects the same standards of everyone that he sets himself. He trains incredibly hard and keeps himself incredibly fit, robust, and strong. He works tirelessly on his game, whether it be his batting, his fielding, or even his offies (off-spin bowling) in case he’s called up to bowl. He’s a great cricket tragic and a great team man who works incredibly hard.”
Azam was recently in action in Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia and scored 80 runs in three ODIs at an average of 80.
He followed that up with 47 runs in three T20Is at an average of 15.66.
After the Australia tour, Pakistan embarked on a trip to Zimbabwe, but Azam was rested for both the ODI and T20I series.
He returned for the ongoing tour of South Africa and made 31 runs in two T20Is at an average of 15.50.
The Lahore native looked a lot better in the ODI series as he finished with 148 runs in three matches, which included two fifties, at an average of 49.33.
Pakistan and South Africa are now playing two Tests, with the first match having started on December 26 in Centurion.
In the 1st Test, Azam made scores of 4 and 50.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha
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