Follow UsThe last few months have not been ideal for the 29-year-old Babar Azam, whose uninspired leadership resulted in an early elimination of the national team at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Not just that, Babar’s own game has taken a nosedive, especially with the lack of impactful knocks at the showpiece event. That has even led to Babar stepping down from captaincy.
However, the three-match Test series against Australia couldn’t have come at a better time for the right-hander, who looks to prove doubters wrong. Ahead of the three-match Test series against Pakistan, Australian opener Usman Khawaja compared Babar and Steve Smith and insisted that it is like matching Smith with Virat Kohli.
"Babar Azam is one of the best batsmen in all three formats. Steve Smith is the greatest batsman of our era. When they both will be playing here in the Benaud-Qadir series, it would be exciting. Matching Babar with Smith is almost like matching Smith with Kohli,” Khawaja said.
"One of the great things about Babar is he does not score only in Pakistan; he scores runs overseas as well. He has scored a hundred here in the past,” he added.
It was an emotional homecoming for Khawaja the last time these two sides met each other, resulting in a win for Australia. Khawaja praised his opponents lavishly, calling them the strongest Pakistan batting lineup to travel to Australia.
"Pakistan is one of the better teams in the world. They have good batting and always have great fast bowlers. Looking at the past teams, I think this is the strongest Pakistan batting lineup coming over. Babar Azam is one of the best batsmen in the world. Imam ul Haq and Abdullah Shafique has scored a lot of runs. I am very excited about this challenge,” Khawaja showered praises on his opponents.
Australia will be up against a strong Pakistani bowling unit spearheaded by none other than Shaheen Afridi. Khawaja opened up on the challenge of facing Afridi, stating that his ability to swing the ball makes his job as an opener a bit tough.
"I think Shaheen Shah and Mitchell Starc, both are very fast bowlers, and both can bowl up to 145. We know Starc can swing the new ball. Shaheen has a very good wrist. He definitely swings the ball. When it's overcast in Australian conditions, if a fast bowler is swinging the ball, it makes our job as an opener a bit tough. This is what you rebel for, this is what you play for."