Grant Elliott: “Babar Azam is one [of] the modern era greats and no doubt Pakistan’s best-ever batsman”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott said there is no doubt in his mind that Babar Azam is “Pakistan’s best-ever batsman”.
Azam has struggled to score runs consistently as of late, but Elliott noted the 30-year-old has achieved so much in international cricket that he has to be considered “one [of] the modern era greats”.
Recently, the Lahore native featured in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand and scored 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
He then captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and finished with 288 runs in 10 matches, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
“Babar Azam is one [of] the modern era greats and no doubt Pakistan’s best-ever batsman,” Elliott was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After PSL 10, Pakistan took on Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, which they won 3-0.
Azam, however, was not included in the squad for the series.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub