ISLAMABAD: Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that Pakistani limited-overs skipper Babar Azam has what it takes to become one of the greats saying the young prolific batsman just needs consistency in Test cricket to be up there.
“Babar has what it takes to become one of the greats. In white-ball cricket he’s up there with the best of them. He’s up near the top of the rankings in Twenty20s, and in 50-over cricket he is exceptional too. He did OK in the Test series against England bearing in mind England is not an easy place to come and play Test cricket. He just needs that consistency in Test cricket to be up there with the likes of Indian Skipper Virat Kohli. Babar’s done that for 6 to 9 months so far, he just needs to be consistent for a longer period of time,” Pakpassion.net quoted him as saying.
Hussain said Babar does have a slight technical problem in the area just outside off stump, a little bit like Kohli had when he first came to England and he was found out. “Babar’s a wonderful player and batting isn’t just about the amount of runs you get, it’s about the way you get them and when Babar’s batting well he’s so pleasing on the eye, he’s an aesthetically pleasing player. He’s an outstanding player, make no mistake and he’s just got to make sure that if he wants to be a great of the game and he’s pushing that, and for that you have to be consistent all over the world and get runs in all conditions,” he said.
Speaking about the England tour of Pakistan, Hussain said the hurdles to this tour were not insurmountable, but with COVID-19 active in both countries, everyone would have to put that into the equation now. “Let’s hope the infection rate falls in England and they get the go-ahead to proceed and then vice-versa, let’s hope the COVID-19 rates stay low in Pakistan.”
“But most importantly security issues have to be looked into, however much Pakistan wants England to come over. The security and safety of the players is of paramount importance. If these two boxes are ticked, then I think in the present climate you have to put it to the players and the players have to be given the final say.”
“They are grown adults and they have to make the decision on whether they will go and are willing to take any risks. However, once those decisions are made, I think ECB’s decision to start talks about the tour will be a good one and I for one am hoping that the visit goes ahead and because it will be great for Pakistan and for world cricket. The simple fact is that Pakistan needs cricket back at home and I really hope the tour by England goes ahead,” he said.
