LAHORE: Pakistan’s captain in all three formats, Babar Azam praised captaincy advice from Champions Trophy 2017 winning skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
In Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s ceremony to honor cricketers, Babar said he goes to Sarfaraz for captaincy advice anytime.
“As a captain, I learned a lot from Saifi Bhai. I always go to him for captaincy advice because I know his experience as a skipper. He knows the game very well and is always there to support me,” he shared.
Babar once again called ‘Pakistan victory against India in T20 World Cup’ as a highlight for him in 2021.
“The highlight for me in 2021 was our victory against India. I am happy with how our players performed like a unit. We didn’t take pressure against them,” he said.
Pakistan beat India for the first time in ICC World Cup that too by 10 wickets.
DUBAI: International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the updates Test bowling and batting rankings, Pakistan’s pacer – Hasan Ali moved into the top 10 Test bowlers.
According to the latest rankings, Hasan Ali claimed the 10th position by moving up two places, while Shaheen Afridi slipped to the fourth position as New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson claimed the third; following a massive surge in the right-arm pacer’s ranking.
Taking to Twitter, ICC shared the updated Test Player Rankings.
In the batting rankings, however, Pakistan’s star batter – Babar Azam remained at his eighth position. Babar is also the only batter to be in the top 10 rankings in all formats.
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BY SM ABDULLAH ARIF
Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam has grown up as the frontline batter for the Green Shirts across all formats of the game. His consistency and focus make him different from several other batters around the world and it is also the reason why he has been praised at every level.
Here we check out five facts about one of the most prominent batters of the current era:
Impressive Catch As A ‘Ball Picker’
Babar Azam, after he rose to fame and became captain, stunned the cricket world with an old video of him as a ‘ball picker’. The video was from Pakistan vs South Africa 2007 match in which he can be seen taking a brilliant catch outside the boundary rope. The shot was hit by South African batter JP Duminy and the catch managed to gain the attention of popular West Indian commentator, Ian Bishop.
First Cousin To Akmal Brothers
You must have heard or if you didn’t, we tell you that Babar is the first cousin to Akmal Brothers who made a name in Pakistan with their cricketing skills. Kamran, Umar, and Adnan Akmal represented Pakistan for many years.
Babar must have got cricket blood for probably a couple of reasons but this is surely one of them.
Die-Hard Fan Of ‘AB De Villiers’
In his so many interviews, the cover drive master acknowledged the greatness of former South African captain AB De Villiers and wished to be like him. He admitted De Villiers as his idol and followed him a lot.
Born To Make Runs
If you watched Babar scoring runs with consistency lately then you must know it is not something new for him. He was appointed captain for ICC U19 World Cup 2012 and guess what, he was the second-highest run-scorer with 287 runs in six matches at an average of 57.40.
Test Debut In Day-Night Match
Babar became just the second cricketer to make his Test debut in a day-night contest. His debut was against West Indies where he scored his maiden fifty just like he did in his debut ODI. He departed after scoring 69 runs but gave a signal of a big player coming up.
DUBAI: Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam surpassed India’s Test skipper Virat Kohli in ICC Test rankings for batters.
With 750 points, Babar grabbed the eighth position on the list, leaving Kohli at number 9 with 747 points.
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne leads the chart on top followed by England’s skipper Joe Root and New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson at second and third position respectively.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s frontline pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is at number three bowlers’ rankings with 822 points.
LAHORE: Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam declared victory against India in the T20 World Cup ‘Best Memory’ of 2021.
In Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s podcast, Babar said he was grateful as captain to create history in the country’s cricket history.
“Our victory against India in T20 World Cup is the highlight of 2021. I am grateful as captain to create history,” Babar shared.
“It was a big victory and as a team, we played really well in T20 World Cup. Our defeat against Australia was heartbreaking too,” he maintained.
Babar praised his players who performed throughout the year and registered several records.
“Rizwan, Shaheen, Hasan and every other player gave their 100 percent this year. I am happy to have such a team to lead,” he said.
“We got some new talent in the likes of Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shahnawaz Dahani and Abdullah Shafique. It looks like Pakistan has a bright future moving ahead,” he added.
In the end, the skipper appealed to cricket fans to continue supporting them in 2022.
KARACHI: Pakistan team’s chief selector, Mohammad Wasim said he is open to constructive criticism otherwise he has a mute option on social media.
Speaking exclusively to A Sports HD on the sidelines of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final here at National Stadium, Wasim said there is no question on his selection on the basis of social media influence.
“I am open to criticism which is constructive and I try to learn from it,” Wasim shared. “I don’t use social media too much. But, I have heard people saying that my selection is often influenced by social media opinions. That is not true, you are talking about the Pakistan team’s selection which is not a joke,” the chief selector added.
The former cricketer said he often uses the mute button which is very useful on Twitter. “Criticism is good but only constructive. Otherwise, I have a very good option of a mute button, especially on Twitter,” he continued.
While talking about next year’s T20 World Cup plan, Wasim said the team is well-set, a few changes according to the need will be made prior to the tournament.
“I think our team has done pretty well in the recent past so they are well set. We will see the situation closer to the time and make changes according to Australian conditions,” he concluded.
DUBAI: Pakistani skipper Babar Azam has been nominated for International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI Player of the Year 2021.
Taking to Twitter, ICC shared nominations for ODI player of the year. Alongside Babar, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, South Africa’s Janeman Malan and Ireland’s Paul Stirling got their place in the nomination.
Performance
Babar Azam: 405 runs in six matches at an average of 67.50 with two centuries
Shakib Al Hasan:
277 runs in nine matches at an average of 39.57 with two fifties; 17 wickets at an average of 17.52
Janneman Malan – South Africa
509 runs in eight matches at an average of 84.83 with two centuries and two half-centuries
Paul Stirling – Ireland
705 runs in 14 matches at an average of 79.66 with three centuries and two half-centuries
LAHORE: Pakistan’s skipper and star batter – Babar Azam paid a visit to a local orphanage in the city to motivate the ‘young heroes’.
On this occasion, the star batter distributed the gifts among the children and also played cricket with them.
Talking to the media, Babar shared that he considers himself lucky to be able to meet the ‘young heroes’. He is also keen to support them in future.
“The heroes showed great determination to do something in life. Will support these superstars and institutions in every possible way,” he said.
The young heroes also received the signed ball from the number 1 T20I and ODI batter.
READ: Babar becomes only batter to end a year as top batsman thrice
KARACHI: Pakistan’s skipper and the current number 1 ODI and T20I batter, Babar Azam became the only batter to finish a year as the best T20I batter, thrice.
After having a fantastic year in T20Is, Pakistan’s captain – Babar, claimed a unique record to his name. The batter became the only batsman to top the ICC T20I batting rankings thrice at the end of each year.
Babar, who finished the years 2018, 19, and 21 as the top T20I batter, broke the record of his Indian and Australian counterparts, Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch respectively.
The two batters topped the batting rankings twice. Virat topped the rankings at the end of 2014 and 16, while Finch ended 2015 and 17 as the top batter in the shortest format. England’s Dawid Malan finished the year 2020 with number T20I batting ranking.
It is apropos to mention here that, Babar who was demoted to number three in the rankings followed by his poor run in the Bangladesh and West Indies series, regained his form in the third T20I against West Indies; scoring 79 off 52 balls. This brilliant performance helped Babar reclaiming the top spot in the T20I batting rankings.
Babar is currently the joint number one batter alongside the Englishman Malan.
READ: Babar Azam reclaims No.1 spot in ICC T20I batting rankings
KARACHI: Pakistan’s former captain, Shahid Afridi praised Babar Azam’s performance as a captain while speaking to a local channel.
The former all-rounder disclosed that he was afraid that the additional responsibility might halt the individual performance of Babar.
“I was concerned that Babar would be put under a lot of stress. The captaincy of the Pakistani squad is a big deal. As captain, you must deal with the media as well as the players,” Afridi said.
The all-rounder, however, admitted that the star batter proved his concerns wrong and is leading the side well.
“I had my doubts about Babar’s ability to lead the team. But, with his performance as captain, he has proven me wrong,” he concluded.
It is apropos to mention here that under Babar’s captaincy, Pakistan recorded the highest number of wins in T20Is in a calendar year, winning 20 matches in 2021. In ICC WT20 2021, he also became the first Pakistani captain to beat India in a world cup match.
READ: ‘I suggested Shaheen to wait for captaincy’ Shahid Afridi