Tag: Babar Azam

South Africa batter David Miller has picked his favourite cover drive as he prefers Babar Azam over Indian star Virat Kohli, playing the shot. 

The two cricket superstars of the contemporary era, Babar and Kohli, enjoy a healthy rivalry not just in terms of batting records and performances, but also in the sophistication of their strokes.

They have led to intense debate among fans and experts, as to who is the better batter and more aesthetically pleasing while playing his shots.

A similar kind of question was posed to South African veteran Miller, who is playing for Gujrat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League, and he replied very confidently.

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, he was asked to choose between Babar and Kohli’s cover drive. “Probably, I would go with Babar,” he answered.

Earlier, former England captain Nasser Hussain had also made a similar claim and rated Babar’s cover drive ahead of Virat’s.

“I’m going to be biased. Sorry Indian fans but I’m gonna go with Babar Azam. I nearly went Kohli because I think Kohli is slightly different. Kohli has a bit more of a flick of the wrist of it. Babar Azam has just a lovely little [touch],” he had said.

“If I was teaching any young girl to watch, I’d ask her to watch Meg Lanning. I’m teaching any young boy to watch a cover drive. I would say watch Babar.” he added.

Pakistan all-format skipper Babar has taken the world cricket and claimed several records across formats since his debut in 2015.

Recently, the 28-year-old scripted history during the fourth ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi, becoming the fastest batter to complete 5,000 runs in One-Day cricket.

He shattered the world record, previously held by Hashim Amla, taking only 97 innings to reach the landmark, four less than Amla’s 101 innings.

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KARACHI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has dispelled the impression of a rift between the players of the national team, saying, ‘The unity of the team is intact and there are no differences in the team at all.’

Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq posted a tweet on Sunday, believed to be an indirect way of venting out his anger for being benched in the fourth and fifth ODI of the recently concluded PAK vs NZ ODI series.

“Life is an unexpected journey so never expect anything from anyone”. Be patient, Allah is watching,” he wrote.

“Life is an unexpected journey so never expect anything from anyone”. Be patient, Allah is watching❗️

— Imam Ul Haq (@ImamUlHaq12) May 7, 2023

When Babar was asked about Imam’s cryptic tweet during the post-match press conference on Sunday, he replied he had not seen the tweet and would see it later.

“No one gets angry in this team. The unity of our team is phenomenal and it will remain like this,” he added.

“And when something like this happens we try to keep to ourselves because the trust level between us is quite good.”

The 28-year-also also shrugged off the reports that Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to retain him as the captain till the ODI World Cup later this year, saying, he had not been informed.

“I am not aware if the board has made that decision. There hasn’t been any communication with me in this regard.”

However, while commenting on Pakistan’s possible squad for the mega event, Babar said he and the management had 15 to 20 players in mind whose names would only be revealed before the World Cup.

“Every match before the World Cup is important for us and we are trying to utilize it,” he said.

Elaborating on the team’s performance in the recently concluded five-game ODI series against New Zealand, the Pakistan captain said, “There were many positives and we were able to check on our bench strength in the series”

“We tried to clean sweep the Black Caps but the way we planned, we couldn’t finish it that way.”

“We planned to finish the series on a better note; however, early wickets led to our defeat,” he lamented.

Tom Latham-led New Zealand took a 47-run consolation win in the final ODI at National Bank Cricket Arena on Sunday to deny Pakistan a 5-0 clean sweep in the series.

The defeat dethroned Pakistan from the No.1 spot in the ODI rankings which they achieved for the first time in history following their dominant win in the fourth ODI on Friday.

READ: PAK vs NZ: New Zealand team leaves after concluding Pakistan tour

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam’s journey is nothing short of an inspiration as the star batter on Friday became the only captain to lead the national team to the top of the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings.

Babar Azam, who made his debut for Pakistan in ODIs against Zimbabwe, made hard yards on his way to becoming one of the most prominent figures for Pakistan in the sport.

He served as a ball boy when South Africa toured Pakistan in 2007 for a five-match ODI series and also as a net bowler and bowled against legendary players like Inzamam-ul-Haq.

After making his ODI debut, Babar soon emerged as the top batter for Pakistan and has been ruling the white-ball formats since then, especially ODIs.

Babar Azam’s astoundingly consistent run in the ODIs lifted him to dethrone his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli as the top-ranked ODI batter in April 2021 and was also named the ODI player of the year for two consecutive years.

Meanwhile, on Friday (May 5), Babar smashed two more ODI records – fastest to 5000 runs and to 18 centuries – amid Pakistan’s dominating 102-run victory over New Zealand which propelled them to the top of ODI rankings for the first time.

Following the remarkable achievement of the national team, a nine-year-old tweet from Babar Azam has been circulating on social media in which the current Pakistan captain expressed his gratitude for being selected for Pakistan’s conditional camp.

Thank God i'm selected for pakistan camp. Pakistan conditional summer camp start from 8 may.

— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) May 5, 2014

 

Coincidentally, the tweet was published on May 5 2014, exactly nine years before Pakistan, under the leadership of Babar Azam, rose to the top of the ODI rankings.

Congratulations, Pakistan 🎉

They go to the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GUq2CjOEoK

— ICC (@ICC) May 5, 2023

 

It is worth mentioning here that Babar will add another feather to his cap on Sunday as he is all set to play his 100th ODI match as Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the fifth PAK vs NZ ODI here at National Bank Cricket Arena.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam is all set to play his 100th ODI match on Sunday as Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the fifth PAK vs NZ ODI here at National Bank Cricket Arena.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has had an illustrious career since he made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in Lahore almost eight years ago. The prolific batter has transformed himself into one of the most successful batters in recent history.

He has been the number-one batter on the ICC ODI Rankings since 2 April 2022 and currently holds the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award, the last being his second in as many years.

When Pakistan and New Zealand will walk out for their final meeting of the five-match PAK vs NZ ODI series at the National Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Babar, the fastest batter to 5,000 runs, will complete the century of matches in the format.

Ahead of the landmark match, the 28-year-old exquisite stroke-maker reflected upon his inspirational ODI journey.

Babar Azam also shared the hard work he put in since his first exposure to official cricket at the under-15 regional level and his feelings when he was first called up for the national side.

“It was a different feeling altogether. There was some talk about me being selected, but when I got the call, there was a lot of excitement. I was sitting with my family and it made them happy. When I entered the Gaddafi Stadium as a Pakistan player, I reminisced my journey of how I used to come here as a ball picker and how I had come here before Inzamam-ul-Haq’s final Test match, which was against South Africa, as a net bowler.

“I was not selected for the national academy for top performers after my first season as an U15 regional player as my performances were not up to the mark. That is when I started to set goals for myself and my first goal was to become a part of it and for that, I worked hard day and night. I used to leave my house for training at 11am and stay in the ground till sunset.”

The Pakistan captain then shared how, through difficult times in his life, he was away from his family and how their support helped him achieve the pinnacle.

“I was very close to my paternal uncle and when he passed away, I was on a tour with Pakistan U19 in South Africa. He always used to take care of my bats and repair them for me. I lost my paternal grandmother when I was playing a match in Islamabad. I could not make in time for the final rituals, as I could not find a bus to Lahore.

“My journey has had its fair share of sacrifices. But, I am glad that I have a family that supports me. My mother bought me my first-ever cricket bat and gear, and I used that bat for good two to three years. My dad has been a great influence in my life. He tells me to be never complacent and that keeps me hungry and focused. My brothers always lend me support in tough times.”

Babar Azam said it was his three consecutive centuries in the United Arab Emirates against the West Indies that turned around his career and gave him confidence.

Speaking about the 2016 series, he said though his start to international cricket was a good one as he scored five half-centuries in the first 15 ODIs, he was unable to convert the starts into big scores. The presence of Mickey Arthur, the then head coach and now team director, helped him evolve into a reliable stroke-maker.

“I want to mention Mickey as he played an integral role in my transformation. As a cricketer, there’s a feeling that if you are not up to the mark, you might get dropped from the side, but he gave me the confidence. He asked me to give my best to the side and not worry about getting axed from the side and that helped me a great deal. He did not only do it with me but with every player in the side and that is why we have eight to nine players in the side currently from that lot.”

Babar Azam took the reins of the national side in 2019 and the added responsibility has brought the best out of him. While staying at the top of his game, he has also been able to get performances out of the team. At the time of the interview, Babar had the best ODI average of 73.72 for players who have captained their countries in at least 20 ODIs. The mantra behind that is clear communication with players and embracing responsibility.

“The first year was a little overwhelming as there were a lot of things to deal with simultaneously as a Pakistan captain. But, I learned how to manage that. I also learned a lot from how Saifi bhai [Sarfaraz Ahmed] managed the team. I used to see his demeanour on and off the field and used to ask him questions that helped me.

“The most crucial bit in leading a team is to provide clarity to each and every player and have honest and open communication with the players. This breeds positivity in the team environment and brings everyone together as a team. As a captain, you have a kind of a dual responsibility because as a non-captain, you only focus on your field and batting, but now you also have to run a team. I enjoy taking responsibility and it brings the best out of me”

For a player who is already regarded as one of the best the country has produced and who has earned tones of accolades over his already legendary career, what is the next goal that he has set himself?

“Being the captain of a World Cup winning side would be sweet,” he said.

PAK vs NZ: Usama Mir backs ‘match-winner’ Shadab Khan

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam’s magnificent century bolstered the home side to breeze past New Zealand in the fourth PAK vs NZ ODI and claimed the top spot in the ICC ODI Team Rankings.

Watch PAK vs NZ Live Match in HD Streaming

The fourth PAK vs NZ ODI of the five-match series was played here at the National Bank Cricket Arena here on Friday.

New Zealand captain Tom Latham opted to bowl first after the coin flipped in his favour. Pakistan, in response, piled up a massive total on the scoreboard on the back of a brilliant century by their captain Babar Azam.

Babar smashed 10 boundaries on his way to top score for Pakistan with a 117-ball 107.

Besides him, Salman Ali Agha was the other notable run-getter for the hosts as he smashed his second half-century in the format.

Agha played a brisk 58-run knock in just 46 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.

The target set by the green shirts turned out to be too much for New Zealand as they succumbed to their fourth straight defeat in the ongoing five-match series despite a brilliant half-century by their skipper Latham.

Latham remained the top scorer for the touring side with a 76-ball 60, which featured five boundaries.

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam notched up his 18th century and powered Pakistan to thrash New Zealand by a massive margin of 102 runs in the fourth PAK vs NZ ODI of the five-match series here on Friday.

With their dominant 102-run victory over hapless New Zealand, Pakistan claimed the top spot in the ODI Team Rankings for the first time in history.

Congratulations, Pakistan 🎉

They go to the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GUq2CjOEoK

— ICC (@ICC) May 5, 2023

Set to chase a mammoth 335, New Zealand’s batting lineup crumbled and bundled out for a meagre 232 in the 43rd over despite their skipper Tom Latham’s 60 and thus handed a massive 102-run victory to the home side.

The touring side had a cautious start to the run chase as their openers Will Young (15) and Tom Blundell raised 36 runs for the first wicket before the latter fell victim to Mohammad Wasim Jr in the eighth over.

New Zealand then endured another setback in the form of Tom Blundell, who could score 23 off 29 before handing a simple catch to Iftikhar Ahmed off Haris Rauf in the ninth over.

Following the slump, New Zealand captain Latham and Daryl Mitchell looked to anchor the run chase as they stitched a vital 83-run partnership for the third wicket.

The duo appeared to have settled down and were eyeing to race up the run rate but Mitchell faltered against Usama Mir and walked back after managing to score 34 off 48 and hit a boundary.

Latham was then involved in yet another crucial partnership for New Zealand as he, alongside Mark Chapman, added 55 runs to the total amid their fourth-wicket stand.

Their stand was turning out to be a game changer as Chapman – the core aggressor – was taking the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners before Latham faltered against Pakistan.

The New Zealand captain top-scored for his side with a 76-ball 60, which featured five boundaries.

New Zealand then succumbed to yet another massive blow when Usama castled the danger-man Chapman in the 36th over, who fell just four of his half-century.

He remained the notable run-getter for New Zealand with a brisk 46 off 33 deliveries, smashing four boundaries and three sixes.

Chapman’s dismissal triggered a match-defining collapse and New Zealand were soon bundled out in the 44th over.

Usama led the bowling attack for Pakistan with 4/43, followed by Wasim Jr’s 3/40, while Haris Rauf struck twice.

Put into bat first in the fourth PAK vs NZ ODI, the home side piled up a mammoth 334/6 in 50 overs at the back of a magnificent century-knock by their skipper Babar Azam.

Watch PAK vs NZ 4th ODI Live Match Streaming in HD

Earlier, the home side got off to an unwanted start as they lost their in-form opener, Fakhar Zaman (14) with just 36 runs on the scoreboard.

Following Fakhar’s early dismissal, Pakistan captain Babar walked into the middle and joined set batter Shan Masood to anchor the innings.

The pair batted sensibly and put their side in command with the 50-run partnership until Ish Sodhi deceived Masood in the 17th over to draw a much-needed breakthrough for the touring side.

The left-handed batter scored 44 off 55 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries.

Babar then put on a brief partnership with his T20I opening partner Mohammad Rizwan – promoted to bat at No. 4 – before a direct hit from Matt Henry marked the end of the latter’s gritty 24-run knock.

Babar then stitched a vital fourth-wicket partnership with Salman Ali Agha and dominated New Zealand bowlers as the pair added 117 runs at a decent pace with the latter being the core aggressor of the stand.

Agha put the touring side under immense pressure by smashing four boundaries and two sixes amid his 58-run knock, which ended after Henry pulled a stunning catch off his own bowling.

Making his return to the ODI side after a year hiatus, Iftikhar Ahmed took some time to settle before taking the New Zealand bowlers to the cleaners amid his 41-run stand with Babar.

Pakistan skipper then made history by becoming the fastest to score an 18th ODI century amid his sixth-wicket stand with Iftikhar.

Meanwhile, Iftikhar, who was breathing fire, skied one off Henry in the 47th over before walking back to the pavilion after scoring 28 off just 22 deliveries, laced up with five boundaries.

Babar Azam’s stay at the crease remained brief after Iftikhar’s dismissal as he perished in the next over after top-scoring for his side.

He whacked 10 boundaries amid his magnificent knock of 107 in 117 deliveries.

Following Babar’s departure, unbeaten cameos from Mohammad Haris (17 off eight) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (23 off seven) made sure the hosts finished their innings on a high.

KARACHI: Pakistan all-format skipper Babar Azam on Friday broke another world record as he became the fastest batter to score 5000 runs in One-Day international cricket during the ongoing PAK vs NZ ODI.

Watch PAK vs NZ 4th ODI Live Match Streaming in HD

Babar surpassed South Africa’s legendary batter Hashim Amla to reach the landmark in the fewest number of innings.

The 28-year-old took just 97 innings to amass 5000 ODI runs, four innings fewer than the previous record of 101 innings held by Amla.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 🤩@babarazam258 becomes the fastest batter to 5️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ ODI runs 👏#PAKvNZ | #CricketMubarak pic.twitter.com/5Yas7066lp

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 5, 2023

Meanwhile, he left behind greats on the list including West Indies’ Sir Vivian Richards and Indian star Virat Kohli, who both took 114 innings to reach the mark.

It is worth mentioning here that the no.1-ranked ODI batter was also the second-fastest to gather 4,000 runs in ODI cricket.

He fell one short of Hashim Amla’s 81 innings when he reached that mark in the first ODI against Australia in Lahore last year.

Babar raced to his next 1000 runs in only 15 innings to make sure he overtakes Amla this time.

The right-hander claimed the feat when he completed his 19th run while Pakistan were 86/1 in the 17th over of their innings.

New Zealand, who are trailing 3-0 in the five-game series, won the toss and put Pakistan to bat in the fourth ODI.

READ: PAK vs NZ: Nawaz set to miss fourth ODI with injured finger

 

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam opened up after a frustrating fifth T20I defeat against New Zealand, which barred the men in green to claim the series victory.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam picked Shadab Khan’s drop catch of Mark Chapman the turning point of the high-voltage clash between the two sides as the young batter went on to score a match-winning unbeaten century.

Chapman was breathing fire with his courageous knock and looked to smash one against Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 14th over but mistimed it.

Pakistan’s best fielder Shadab Khan managed to get under the ball as he ran quickly from wide long-on but ended up dropping a sitter. Chapman was batting at 67 at that point and went on to finish at an unbeaten 104.

His quickfire century powered New Zealand to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the fifth T20I and levelled the five-match series 2-2.

“The dropped catch obviously cost us the game,” said Babar at the post-match press conference.

“Shadab has given a lot of performances in the past. If his performance isn’t good in one series, that doesn’t make any difference to us. We will back him and he will perform again,” he added.

Pakistan’s captain also confessed that his side was 10 to 15 runs short as the home side could finish at 193/5 in their set of 20 overs, 16 short of the average first innings total of 209 at Pindi Cricket Stadium.

“I think the way we started, on these surfaces in Pindi you keep in mind around 180, 190. And I think the way Rizwan and Iftikhar were playing, I thought 200 was on the cards because the wicket gets even better in the second innings,” stated Babar.

“In the last three overs, Rizwan tried hard but couldn’t connect them. I think he has done very well in the past but yes, we can say that we should’ve done well in those two overs and could’ve scored ten more runs. But that doesn’t mean we lost only because of him, it happens sometimes when you’re thinking of a plan in your mind but cannot execute it,” he concluded.

READ: Mohammad Haris included in ODI squad

Legendary Pakistan captain Imran Khan heaped praises on the national team’s current skipper Babar Azam, saying the star batter ‘has the potential to surpass’ everyone. 

Speaking on an Eid special show on a YouTube channel, World Cup-winning captain and former Prime Minister, Khan, said he had not seen a better as outstanding as Babar for long.

“Our captain [Babar Azam] is an outstanding batter. I have seen a batter of such quality after a very long time.” he said

“I have analysed him in every way. Since I analyse batter through a bowler’s lens, his technique, talent and temperament are all brilliant. It is very rare to find all three of these things in one batter, but he has them all.” added the legendary fast bowler.

“He has the potential to surpass everyone,” he remarked.

It must be noted here that Pakistan’s all-format skipper Babar has registered a number of batting records since his debut in 2015. He has bagged ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year two times in a row. Besides he has also claimed the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of 2022.

The right-handed batter is currently the No.1 ranked batsman in One-Day internationals and remains third on the T20I rankings.

During his eight-year career, Babar has scored 3696 runs in Tests including nine hundreds and 26 half-centuries, and 4813 runs in ODIs with help of 17 centuries and 26 fifties.

The 28-year-old is also the highest run-scorer for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game, having 3466 runs at a stunning average of 41.75. He has 30 T20I fifties to his credit and breached the three-digit mark thrice in the format.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan all-format skipper Babar Azam is just one win away from breaking another headline record as a team captain when his side meets New Zealand in the fourth PAK vs NZ T20I, here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. 

Babar has the opportunity to etch his name as the captain with the most number of wins in the shortest format of the game during the upcoming encounter against the visitors.

WATCH PAK VS NZ LIVE MATCH IN HD STREAMING at ARY ZAP

So far, he is the joint-holder of this record with Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan and England’s Eoin Morgan after 42 wins.

The 28-year-old has captained the Green Shirts in 69 T20 international matches. It will be a double delight for Babar if he secures a victory in his 70th T20I match as a skipper. He can wrap up the five-game series along with becoming the captain with the most number of wins in the format with 43 victories.

It is pertinent to mention here that Babar has captained the Pakistan T20I side more than any other captain in history. He was given the reins back in 2019 following the ouster of former all-format captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan reached the semifinals of two successive T20 World Cups -2021 and 2022 – and finished as runner-ups in the latter.

It must be noted here that the ongoing five-game series took an interesting turn on Monday after New Zealand won their maiden T20I against Pakistan on the latter’s home soil last night and reduced the hosts’ advantage to 2-1.

In the third PAK v NZ T20I, Pakistan failed just four runs short of victory while chasing 164 as the home side could raise 159 before bundling out on the final delivery despite Iftikhar’s quickfire 60.

The Rawalpindi pitch, known for delivering high-scoring contests because of its batting-friendly nature, will host the last two matches of PAK vs NZ T20I series on April 20 and 24, respectively.

READ: PAK vs NZ: Run-fest expected on batting-friendly Pindi pitches