Pakistan cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja has opened up on Babar Azam, who is more often than not compared with batting giant, Virat Kohli. Batting star Azam, who scored 63 and remained unbeaten in the second innings of the final and third Test against England in Southampton, however, still failed to impress fans who were majorly disappointed by lack of big scores — from his bat in the recently-concluded series.
The 58-year-old former Pakistan batsman — Ramiz wants Azam to keep learning from the process in a bid to reap the rewards by scoring major chunk of runs which his team needs. He further remarked that he should become a match-winner like Indian captain and batting prodigy, Virat Kohli.
“I just want him to keep learning. This Pakistan batting line-up needs him to score massively. What he has to do is become a match-winner now. He needs to learn that from Kohli. And he’s got the potential. He’s only 25. I feel that with time, he’ll get better,” Ramiz Raza said in an interview for TOI.
Pertinently, Azam is the only player at the moment – to be among the top five ICC rankings across formats. The elegant stroke-maker Azam has scored 195 runs in three Tests averaging 48.75 including two fifties but was expected to perform better.
Also, Ramiz asserted that Pakistan’s premier batsman Azam should take a cue from Kohli to tackle seam and swing in the near future in English conditions.
“Next time when he goes to England, it will be a bit like Kohli — he will be more at home playing swing and seam,” maintained Ramiz.
On the other hand, star batsman Kohli is 31 but has already amassed 11,867 One-day International (ODI) runs — and has 70 international centuries to his name, which is second only to legendary — Sachin Tendulkar. Despite Pakistan being on the losing side, Babar Azam finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer during the ongoing England tour.
Ramiz Raja on Babar Azam’s technique:
Moreover, Ramiz Raja, who seemed unimpressed with Azam, stressed that he must get his technique right and adjust that to be successful in England conditions which stand quite different from the Indian subcontinent. He also said that he has ‘wasted’ his opportunities in the UK.
“He needs to learn these things. He needs to make a few technical adjustments to be successful in England. This tour was a big platform for him, and I thought that by getting out on 70s and 40s, he wasted his chance, which he himself would admit. It shows that you can’t take anything for granted in England,” analysed Ramiz.
“The comparison with Virat is not justified. Virat is a match-winner. Babar has played only a handful of Tests. He’s finding his way through international circuit. However, it must be great for him to be compared to Kohli. I don’t think that it brings pressure on him. He should be encouraged, enthused to be like Kohli,” Raja concluded.