“When Babar Azam ends his career, he will be Pakistan’s greatest batter” - Gautam Gambhir
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir reckons that Babar Azam will be Pakistan’s greatest batter by the time he ends his career. According to Gambhir, there have never been any doubts over Babar’s credentials as a batter. He added that, with the experienced Pakistan cricketer having given up captaincy, the world should now see the best of him as a batter.
Babar resigned as captain from all formats of the game following Pakistan’s poor 2023 World Cup campaign. The team failed to qualify for the semi-finals, while Babar himself had a mixed run with the bat, scoring 320 runs in nine innings with four fifties.
Asked how giving up captaincy in all formats will help Babar’s cause as a batter, Gambhir told Sportskeeda:
“It’s an individual choice of players to leave or accept captaincy. Babar Azam is still a top quality batter for me. We might get to see the best of Babar Azam now. In Pakistan, all the blame as well as the appreciation only goes to the captain. It happens to an extent in India as well, but not to the level that it happens in Pakistan.”
The 42-year-old added that, minus the pressure of captaincy, Babar should be able to play with a lot more freedom, which will only benefit him and the Pakistan team.
“There were never question marks over Babar Azam’s batting. The question marks were over his captaincy. Now that he has left it, you will see Babar reaching a different level as a batter. Even today, he is one of Pakistan’s top batters. When Babar Azam ends his career, he will be Pakistan’s greatest batter. He is still young and can play for another 10 years as a batter. He himself might not know what he can achieve,” Gambhir commented.
Babar has scored 3,772 runs in 49 Tests, 5,729 runs in 117 ODIs, and 3,485 runs in 104 T20Is.
“I feel making a fast bowler a captain is risky” - Gambhir on Shaheen Afridi being named T20I captain
Asked about the decision to appoint Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi as Pakistan’s Test and T20I captains, respectively, Gambhir said that it was the country’s internal matter.
He, however, opined that making a fast bowler captain comes with its risks.
“We should not get into the debate over who Pakistan appoints as captain. It is their internal matter. They feel Shaheen Afridi can be a good captain. I feel making a fast bowler a captain is risky. I am not saying fast bowlers can’t be good captains, but they have their limitations,” Gambhir stated.
Meanwhile, Masood is leading Pakistan in the first Test of the series against Australia in Perth, which began on Thursday.