AB de Villiers: “The batting side of Pakistan has always been a problem; it was never solid enough, it always goes up and down, and I feel they are in a place of consistency because of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan”
Matthew Hayden: “I also want to mention Haris as well. He faces every fast bowler in the nets and smashes them”
Moeen Ali: “He is a fantastic player and very hard to stop”
Aaqib Javed: “Shoaib Malik is currently the best choice [for the] number four position”
Misbah-ul-Haq: “He is trying to dominate the bowlers as there’s an ego and pride. But somewhere he is overdoing it”
Mahela Jayawardene: “He’s been consistent in all three formats and it shows in his rankings”
Shahid Afridi: “He will have to come down the track and take risks. He will have to make gaps towards mid-off and extra cover, and for this, he will have to practice these strokes”
Javed Miandad: “Babar Azam is mature now. He should be the captain of the team until he retires from the game”
Tauseef Ahmed: “Where is Asad Shafiq?”
Wasim Akram: “I was impressed by Pakistan’s bowlers. Dahani, playing his 3rd or 4th game, Naseem Shah, [19] years old”
Ahmed Shehzad: “Dream start for Abrar Ahmed in Test match cricket. 5 wicket haul on 1st day of his debut Test match is just amazing. What a find for Pakistan cricket not only in red ball but I have seen him troubling good pedigree batters in white ball too. Just wow”
Aaqib Javed: “Very unlikely I have seen any mystery spinner getting success in Test cricket”
Shahid Afridi: “I gave him a lot of chances, which turned out to be a negative thing for him when I left [the] captaincy”
Wasim Akram addressing Mohammad Yousuf: “360 is a bit too much to ask for, just play 180 degrees. This is the practice you do, and if you do [it], then why don’t you apply in the match”
Ravichandran Ashwin: “A tall left-arm seamer who sets the game with the new ball and also unleashes yorkers at the death. He might have gone for 14-15 crore had he been there at the IPL auction”
Abdul Razzaq on his son Ali: “He has the potential to become a good cricketer”
Aaron Finch: “Someone who can dominate the game and almost feels like he’s got you on a string at all times”
Nathan Lyon: “Babar, I think in all three formats of cricket for Pakistan, I think he’s been absolutely exceptional”
Misbah-ul-Haq: “I think looking at his performances, his development has been outstanding”
Ahmed Shehzad: “Since this was Misbah-ul-Haq’s last tournament, he said I would lead the Pakistan side after 2015 World Cup and I should behave accordingly”
Kamran Akmal: “If you want him to score 25,000 runs or 22,000 runs, he should only play as a player. Otherwise, he will come under extreme pressure and his performance will go down”
Misbah-ul-Haq: “Tummies are visible… and they can’t move. The reason behind this is there has not been a single fitness test, there is no benchmark”
Mahela Jayawardene: “He’s not rattled at any time, whether he plays T20Is, ODIs or Tests, he adjusts quite brilliantly”
Misbah-ul-Haq: “At least such a strong player should be kept in the loop”
Mahela Jayawardene: “[I] think it is just the technique, the time that he has and the composure that he has out there in the middle”
Shadab Khan said Babar Azam is the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket
Shan Masood said Mohammad Yousuf is an artist
Wasim Jaffer: “In my opinion, Babar Azam is among the top five players currently”
Babar Azam: “As far as Hasan Ali is concerned, I always support him because he is a team man”
Saeed Ajmal: “You have seen Wasim Akram. He is a world-class bowler. Arshdeep bowled brilliantly”
Saeed Ajmal played an instrumental role in helping Pakistan beat England
Faf du Plessis: “Saeed Ajmal quite a bit”
Saeed Ajmal: “Iftikhar plays like MS Dhoni but couldn’t end the innings like MS used to. [MS] used to take singles and hit sixes towards the end to compensate for them”
Saeed Ajmal: “Babar Azam is still doing good captaincy and should not be changed”
Misbah-ul-Haq: “Players like myself, Shoaib Malik, and Younis Khan were quite into fitness, and we used to push ourselves”
Saeed Ajmal: “The delivery that comes back in from a left-arm fast bowler, that is the ball which is very difficult to face”
Wasim Akram: “He is absolutely on the right track to be one of the modern greats”
Misbah-ul-Haq: “I have said this many a times that you need to develop your sweep. Today, he could have played the ball sweeping but he doesn’t have this in his armoury”
Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad: “I don’t think there is any problem with my performance. Yes, due to injury, I was out of cricket action for some time, but then I returned to domestic cricket, played in a couple of leagues, and you can see my performances”
Agha Salman: “Definitely he’s our senior player and one of the best players of Pakistan across all the formats”
Saeed Ajmal: “Mohammad Haris is selected because he is Ramiz Raja’s choice, he is his favourite”
