Australian bowlers heaped praise on Pakistan’s ace batter Babar Azam ahead of the three-match Test series between the two countries, starting from December 14 in Perth.
Australia Test captain, Pat Cummins acknowledged Babar’s challenging skills, highlighting his scarcity of weaknesses and a well-rounded technique that allows him to score across the entire spectrum of the field.
“Babar doesn’t has too many weaknesses. He has pretty tight technique and can score all around the ground. He is going to be hard work. He is kind of in the upper echelon of the batters at the moment around the world, so it will be satisfying if you get him out,” Cummins said.
Josh Hazlewood lauded Babar’s prolonged excellence, highlighting his evolution from an impactful ODI batsman to a force to be reckoned with in Test cricket.
“He’s a superclass player and has been for a long time. Babar burst on the arena as an ODI batter and later changed his game to be strong in Test cricket as well. If you miss, he hurts you and tries to put pressure back on bowlers,” Hazlewood said.
Mitchell Starc acknowledged Babar’s capability to seize control of the game and expressed the team’s aspiration to contain his impact during the upcoming tour.
“Babar Azam has got a great batting temperament and has got all the shots. He can built an inning and can also be ultra aggressive. Babar has ability to take the game away from you. He’s one of the best and we hope to keep Babar quiet on this tour,” Starc said.
Nathan Lyon characterized Babar Azam as an exceptionally talented player, expressing the eagerness to compete against one of the world’s best.
“Babar Azam is an extremely talented. You always want to compete against the best players in the world and he is definitely one of them,” Lyon said.