Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has thrown his weight behind star batter Babar Azam, who has come under heavy scutiny for his poor outing in the Champions Trophy. Babar scored 87 runs in two matches as as hosts Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-final of the Champions Trophy. Several current and former Pakistan players were critical of Babar and accused him of not performing in big games. However, Butt feels Babar is the best batter Pakistan has produced, by a country mile, in the last 20 years.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“His Test average with 9 centuries and 26 fifties is 44.5. One-day average is 56.72 with 19 centuries and 32 half-centuries. In T20Is he has an average of 41, strike-rate of 129. Someone tell me if these stats have been beaten by any single player in Pakistan in the last 20 years. The players who are trying to say they are match-winners, combine them and look at how many matches they have won. I think a comparison is warranted,” Butt said on GNN HD News.
Babar has been often compared to star India batter Virat Kohli, who has 82 international centuries to his name, the second highest ever after Sachin Tendulkar, who ended his career with 100 centuries to his name.
Butt suggested that while the comparisons between Babar and Kohli are baseless, he is the best that Pakistan have. He also mentioned how Kohli has always had someone like an MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma to bail the team out when he was not performing up to the standards. On the contrary, Butt suggested that Babar never had that backing in his career.
“Talk sense. You don’t have a Kohli or a Williamson. Babar is no Kohli. But Babar is the best that we have. If he’s not scoring runs, he needs back-up now. When he’s scoring, even if you don’t like him you will have to sing his praises with the world. This dip in form, even Kohli had it, but Kohli is such a high-class player that he kept scoring 50s in those matches. Who did he have with him? Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni. Big players, match-winners. Who does Babar have?” he added.
There have been calls to drop Babar and other senior members from the team after Pakistan’s early exit from the Champions Trophy.
Babar will now be seen in action during the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League, starting March 18.
from: NDTV Sports-Latest