Babar Azam, who was singled out by Dinesh Karthik to potentially rise as an all-format top-ranked batsman in future, has responded to the Indian wicketkeeper’s remark.
With his eye-catchy and graceful batting and impeccable consistency, Azam has risen as one of modern day’s great batters, plying his trade for Pakistan across formats. Having made his international debut back in May 2015, he has been Pakistan’s prime batter for over half a decade now, having played 40 Tests, 86 ODIs and 74 T20Is.
The right-hander has scored 2,851 runs at an average of 46, with six hundreds and a highest of 196 in Tests. Earlier this year, he had become the second fastest to 4,000 ODI runs, having achieved the mark in 82 innings, only one less than former South Africa batter Hashim Amla.
The player aggregates 4,261 at a whopping 59.18 in the format, with 16 hundreds to his name. In T20Is, the Pakistan skipper has amassed 2,686 runs at a staggering 45.53, while maintaining a strike-rate of 129.45.
With Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Joe Root having established themselves as the “Fab Four” in modern-day cricket, Babar has quietly risen through the ranks as a top-quality batter. He currently tops the ICC Men’s Batting Rankings in ODIs and T20Is, and is placed fifth in the Tests charts, behind Marnus Labuschagne, Smith, Williamson and Root, respectively.
Recently, Dinesh Karthik had remarked that Babar has the potential to become an all-format No.1, to which the 27-year-old has now responded.
“Definitely, as a player it’s a dream to become the No. 1 in all formats and for that, you have to focus and put in hard work. It’s not like if you are the top player in 1 or 2 formats, you go easy.
If you are to become No.1 in all three, you have to keep yourself fit and on track. There is back-to-back cricket and the gap is less. For that, you need to be extra fit. It’s something I am preparing for. It’s going well in white-ball and hopefully, I will be able to do well in Tests too,”
Babar said.
Earlier, Karthik had lauded Babar for his adaptability across formats and at various batting positions.
“One-hundred per cent (he is capable of achieving No.1 ranking across formats). He is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess and he has got some Test matches coming up.
“He has been phenomenal in all three formats of the game and he has done well in different batting positions too.
I wish him all the best and think he has the potential. He has got all the following of Pakistan helping him in abundance to go on and do special things for his country,”
Karthik had told Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.
Currently the only batter in top-five batting rankings in the three formats, Babar has had success as a captain too. Earlier this season, he led his national side to a 1-0 Test series win over Australia at home. That was followed by a 2-1 ODI series win – Pakistan’s first over Australia in a bilateral affair since 2002, with seven failed attempts in between.
Last year, he topped the run-scoring charts at the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE, with 303 runs at 60.60, with fifties in four of his six outings. Pakistan registered their first-ever win over India in World Cups, beating them by 10 wickets in Dubai in their tournament opener, and the winning run continued until they were undone by eventual champions Australia in the semi-final at the same venue.
Babar will next be in action in the home ODI series against the West Indies, beginning June 8 in Multan.
