Former Pakistan Skipper Wasim Akram Feels "21st Century Belongs" To This Batter

Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram was all praise for Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, saying that the 21st century belongs to the Lahore-born batter. The former Pakistan skipper compared Babar with some of the greatest batters Pakistan have ever produced, adding that the 27-year-old has "still got plenty in him". "If you talk about Pakistan batting, you start with Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Inzamam-Ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousaf and then now it's Babar Azam. The 21st century belongs to Babar Azam, he's the man. And he's still got plenty in him," Akram told Sport360.

Akram also recalled working with Babar during his time at Karachi Kings as mentor in 2017, a year before the former was named as the President of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise.

"I've seen him since he was a captain in 2010. He came through the proper ranks, I have worked with him in Karachi Kings as well from last three years," he said.

The 55-year-old further hailed Babar Azam for his work ethic and consistency with the bat, adding that all these qualities are signs of a good leader.

"I love his work ethic; he is focused and he's never satisfied with his performance and that's a sign of a good leader. I knew at the time, with this boy, with his work ethic, with his talent, he will definitely perform and be consistent," he added.

For the record, Babar, who is leading Pakistan across formats, is the only batter to feature in the top 10 of the ICC rankings in all three formats currently.

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Wasim Akram Babar Azam Cricket