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'Used to learn from him, what he was doing': Pakistan's Babar Azam reserves massive praise for IPL icon
Taking a trip down the memory lane, Pakistan's all-format skipper Babar Azam reserved massive praise for an IPL icon.
For a young Babar Azam, the inspiring journey to become one of the best batters in international cricket started in 2007. Regarded as the next big thing in Pakistani cricket, Babar was a ball boy when South Africa toured Pakistan in 2007. The Gaddafi Test match between Pakistan and South Africa drew curtains on Inzamam-ul-Haq's illustrious Test career and the 2007 encounter also marked the arrival of Proteas superstar AB de Villiers in Lahore.
Taking a trip down memory lane on Babar's 28th birthday, Pakistan Cricket recalled that the premier batter was a big fan of De Villiers. One of the greatest batters in the modern era of the game, former South Africa skipper De Villiers played 114 Tests, 228 One Day International (ODIs) and 78 T20Is for South Africa. Nicknamed Mr 360°, De Villiers is also fondly remembered for his impactful stint with Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"During that time, I was very fond of AB de Villiers. I was overwhelmed after seeing him. I used to learn from him, what he was doing, how he was batting and fielding. I used to stay near the South African team to notice what De Villiers was doing. I used to get a lot of boost after seeing him," Babar said in a video uploaded by Pakistan Cricket on Twitter.
In his farewell match, batting icon Inzamam missed out on breaking Javed Miandad's record as the former Pakistan skipper was dismissed for cheap (3) by Paul Harris. The 2007 Test match between South Africa and Pakistan ended in a stalemate. Legendary all-rounder Jacques Kallis was named the player of the Match for his all-round show.
"I used to give knocking to our players as a ball boy, collect balls from the boundary. During that time, Inzamam played his last match for Pakistan. He needed two runs (3 runs) to break Javed bhai's record. But unfortunately, he got stumped. I noticed Inzamam carefully walking to the dressing room. I also remember Inzamam venting out inside the dressing room," Babar added. Batting superstar Babar will lead Pakistan in the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan will meet India in its World Cup opener on October 23.
