While Pakistan has a history of unearthing tearaway pacers, the Asian country is currently riding Babar Azam's magnificence with the bat. The Imran Khan era saw the emergence of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis before Shoaib Akhtar rose through the ranks. Cut to the present, Babar seems in a league of his own, piling on runs for fun in all three formats of the sport. Also Read | 'Some are unfortunately sitting out': Sehwag shoots ominous warning, says India need to find 'best available players'
As Pakistan head to this year's World T20 after failing at the semi-final hurdle last year, Babar remains key for his side's fate in Australia. bowling great Waqar Younis has lavished huge praise on the star batter, saying he and Mohammad Rizwan will have a key role in play in the T20 showpiece event.
"Babar is definitely going to be the key batter at the top of the order.I think he (Babar) will have the impact that he has always had and then of course Rizwan is playing very well and the bowling attack they have got it one of the best in the world," Waqar told ICC digital.
"We stand a really good chance of doing well at this World Cup. The pitches in Australia are generally very good batting pitches and Pakistan do have good batters who can really play well in these conditions," he added.
Pakistan's last claimed the T20 World Cup title in 2019 with Younis Khan as their skipper. In hunt for another silverware, Pakistan start their campaign against arch-rivals India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan's last claimed the T20 World Cup title in 2019 with Younis Khan as their skipper. In hunt for another silverware, Pakistan start their campaign against arch-rivals India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.
{{/usCountry}}For several years, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson had been headlining the 'Fab 4' of batting. But Babar has raised hand for a spot in the elite list, thanks to his consistent batting performances irrespective of the format.
Noises of his comparison with Kohli have grown louder. Many believe that Babar is of the same calibre as Kohli and he might pip the Indian moving forward. But Waqar feels he should be compared to "big names" only when he bids adeiu to the sport.
"Babar Azam in modern day cricket looks a million dollars and he is definitely as good as all the big names. Babar is still very young and has plenty of cricket ahead of him and once he has retired you can perhaps sit down and start comparing him with others.
"But all those greats have their own strengths and their own class and all of them played in different eras and we should not forget that," added Waqar.