In debates over who is the all-time best in a sport, fanatics have often wondered about cross-generational battles. On Saturday, a question left Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram thinking as a fan asked what his bowling plans would have been if he got a chance to bowl against modern-era Pakistan star Babar Azam. Akram dropped a remarkable response to the query where he compared the former Pakistan captain to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
Speaking on A Sports' show 'The Pavilion', Akram hailed Babar's stellar batting abilities and reckoned that the Pakistan star is a technically-solid batter just like Sachin and Lara, and hence getting them out, especially in limited-overs cricket is difficult. Although it seemed Akram did not wish to dwell on the bowling plans for Babar, he revealed that just like in the case of Sachin and Lara, he would want to start off bowling attacking lines against the Pakistan top-order batter to check how comfortable he is on that given track.
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“Babar is a very good player. He is among the three best batters in the world right now and he plays proper cricketing shots. Had he been a pinch hitter, then the bowler would know that he has a chance to get him out. But Babar...for players like Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, it was difficult to bowl to them because they play good shots against good deliveries and hence gives you lesser opportunities to dismiss them. These are technically-good batters. But yes, bowl attacking lines in the first few overs just to check whether they are set on that particular track,” he said.
Babar Azam in PSL 2024
{{/usCountry}}“Babar is a very good player. He is among the three best batters in the world right now and he plays proper cricketing shots. Had he been a pinch hitter, then the bowler would know that he has a chance to get him out. But Babar...for players like Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, it was difficult to bowl to them because they play good shots against good deliveries and hence gives you lesser opportunities to dismiss them. These are technically-good batters. But yes, bowl attacking lines in the first few overs just to check whether they are set on that particular track,” he said.
Babar Azam in PSL 2024
{{/usCountry}}The Peshawar Zalmi skipper is currently enjoying an impressive campaign in the ongoing 2024 season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). In just five matches for the franchise, he has scored 330 runs, the most by a batter in the season, at 82.5 and with a strike rate of 151.37. The run tally includes a sensational knock of 111 not out, which was scored in just 63 balls against Islamabad United, and two other half-centuries.
Despite Babar's astonishing campaign, Peshawar stands third in the points table with three wins from six matches. They had lost their opening two matches - against Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings - before winning three in a row. However, their last match, against Lahore Qalandars, was abandoned due to rain. Babar and his men will play their next match against Islamabad United at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on March 4.