West Indies legendary batsman Sir Vivian Richards has showered praises on Babar Azam’s batting as he drew a comparison between his batting style and a legendary boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Sir Viv Richards is currently working as a mentor for the PSL team Quetta Gladiators.

Babar Azam was recently awarded as ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year as he scored 405 runs in just 6 matches with two hundreds in the year 2021. Babar also scored 939 runs in the T20Is in the last calendar year of 2021 with an average of 37.56 which included one hundred and 9 fifties.

In an interview with Geo News, Vivian Richards stated that Babar is among the best batters in world cricket right as he is highly impressed with his orthodox cricketing shots.

“Babar is up there with the very best. He is definitely the best who plays conventional shots and shots that you will see normally in Test match cricket, ODI cricket. What I love about Babar is that you don’t see what he’s doing to you, he doesn’t knock you out.

“He tends to be like Muhammad Ali, when he boxes, he jabs and he hurts you. He is an individual that just has too much time to play, and it’s a joy.” Sir Vivian Richards spoke to Geo News.

In the ongoing PSL, Babar scored 186 runs in 4 matches though he has received lots of flak for the lack of intent as he scored with a strike rate of 120.77.

Meanwhile, Sir Vivian Richards also lauded Sarfaraz Ahmed for his leadership for Quetta Gladiators as he stated that the 34-year old brings a lot of passion and spirit to the team.

“He is someone who is more focused on the team’s success than individuals. I’ve always liked his spirit and the energy that he brings. I’ve seen him do that on numerous occasions.

“I spoke to him earlier today to encourage and to let him know that he’s still a man who can accomplish anything that he wants to accomplish. Because he is an individual that brings a lot of passion and all the stuff that it needs to for you to be successful,” he added.

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