Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said Pakistan captain Babar Azam has all the qualities to set the ICC World Cup 2023 on fire. Babar is currently the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world and is the only batter to feature in the top 10 of all three formats. He is ranked 3 in T20Is behind India’s Suryakumar Yadav and teammate Mohammad Rizwan while he attains the fourth spot in the Test rankings led by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.
Babar came into international cricket much later compared to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith but the Pakistan captain has made rapid strides to rise to their levels. In fact, many would argue that he has overtaken everyone and is now the current best batter across formats. Gambhir is certainly a believer of that thought.
“Babar Azam,” said Gambhir on Star Sports when he was asked to name the player he is most looking forward to seeing at the World Cup.
Gambhir named Kohli, Rohit, Warner, Root and Williamson to state that Babar’s quality belongs to a different level. “Babar Azam has every quality to set this World Cup on fire. I have seen very few players who have so much time. Yes, there are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Kane Williamson and Joe Root but Babar Azam has a quality of a different level,” the former India opener, who played a crucial role in India’s last World Cup triumph in 2011, said.
Babar did not have the best of Asia Cups. He started off with a record 151-run knock against Nepal but did not manage to get a noteworthy score when it mattered the most in the Super 4 stage. It was one of the biggest reasons for Pakistan not making it to the final of the Asia Cup. India beat both Pakistan and Sri Lanka to advance to the final and then beat Sri Lanka again to lift the trophy for a record 8th time.
However, the class that Babar Azam has, one should expect him to turn it around in the upcoming World Cup. This will be the second time he will spearhead Pakistan’s batting unit in the 50-over World Cup. He is much more experienced and well-suited then he was four years ago, which means fans expect fireworks from the stylish right-hander’s bat.
Pakistan play two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia before starting off their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6. The tournament begins with last year’s finalists England and New Zealand squaring off against each other a day earlier in Ahmedabad.
