Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been recalled for the white-ball tour of Australia after being dropped for the last two Tests of the series at home against England due to his inconsistent form; but experts believe that one big knock in a big game will help him get his mojo back.
Ramiz Raja, who served as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and also led Pakistan during his playing days, believes it’s only a matter of time before Babar rediscovers himself and shows the world that he is Vivian Richards.
“I feel Babar has to achieve a lot more in Test cricket,” said Ramiz, while replying to a viewer’s question on his YouTube channel.
“He plays the white-ball format really well, has an average of 50-plus in both the formats (T20I and ODI)…There is so much potential in Babar Azam. Ab unko apne temperament se batana hai duniya mei ke woh ek Viv Richards hain (now he has to prove to the world with his temperament that he is Viv Richards). Bigger the contest, bigger the innings Richards used to play,” Ramiz added, while comparing Babar to the West Indies legend.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and three T20Is against Australia from November 4 to 18 before embarking on the tour of Zimbabwe that will also feature three ODIs and three T20Is.
Babar, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah have all been recalled for the Australia tour after being left out of the Test squad.
The white-ball teams will be led by newly-appointed skipper Mohammad Rizwan, except in the T20I series in Zimbabwe where the team will be captaine by Salman Agha.
“I am just hoping that he (Babar) rediscovers himself after returning from rest because there are important series coming up,” Ramiz concluded.