Watch: 'Not many can argue that Babar is...' - Doull makes massive statement on PAK captain on-air during ENG-NZ Test

New Zealand's Simon Doull made a big statement on Babar Azam during his commentary stint in the 3rd Test between England and New Zealand.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam is currently enjoying a brilliant run with the bat. In the recently-concluded three-match ODI series against West Indies, Babar scored a ton and a half-century, and smashed a number of records with his 103-run innings in the first game. The Pakistan skipper has scored 17 centuries in merely 89 ODI appearances so far, and boasts of a tremendous average of 59.22 in the fifty-over format. In Tests, too, Babar has an impressive average of 45.98 with five tons and 21 half-centuries in 40 games.

Babar Azam (AP)

This year, Babar has undoubtedly been the best batter for Pakistan in Tests and ODIs, and a number of former cricketers have vouched for his inclusion in the famed Big-4 – a name given for the best batters in world cricket. On Saturday, as England took on New Zealand on Day 3 of the final Test, former Kiwi bowler Simon Doull raved about Babar during his commentary stint.

“Not too many can argue that Babar Azam is probably the best player in the world at the moment. As far as batting in that top order is concerned, he is unbelievable. Joe Root has got an argument for that, but when you talk about the Big-4, at the moment, he is the big one,” Doull said, as New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (considered as part of Big-4) played alongside Tom Latham in the second innings of the game.

Earlier, former West Indies star Ian Bishop had also heaped praise on Babar, saying that he has “almost overtaken” India great Virat Kohli as a batter in the fifty-over format.

“Babar Azam is on the road to greatness. I want to be clear when I say 'on the road to...', in the white-ball cricket at least, and certainly in fifty overs. I don't use the term ‘great’ loosely. It has to be a bigger sample size to bestow greatness on a player, but his average, as we speak now, (is) on the cusp on 60 with 17 ODI hundreds. He has almost overtaken his next door neighbour, the great Virat Kohli, in terms of the ultimate uber fifty-over batsman,” Bishop had said during a conversation with cricwick.com.