Opinion

Babar Azam is yet to reach his potential: Mohammad Hafeez

Written by Vishwas Gupta

Babar Azam has been one of the most exciting batting talent to have come out of Pakistan over the past decade. His ability to score runs in all formats and on all surfaces have seen him to rise to the captaincy of the team in limited overs cricket in a short span of time.

His performances have drawn praise from his colleagues as well as past greats and even comparison with Indian batting great Virat Kohli. Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who has seen Azam’s rise from close quarters, feels the newly appointed limited overs captain is yet to reach his full potential.

“He [Babar] is a brilliant performer for Pakistan. In his five-year career for Pakistan so far, he has played some amazing cricket. However, he is yet to reach his full potential, considering his talent,” said Hafeez.

“He is like my younger brother and I tell him to his face that a talent like him is not there yet where I want to see him. He is trying to push those barriers and I am confident that he will serve Pakistan for a long time,” Hafeez said on a Youtube show Cricast.

Hafeez further said that captaincy will serve the youngster well as success as a captain will make him more confident.

“I haven’t seen him a lot as a captain. I played only two matches under his captaincy. I can’t evaluate his captaincy until I see his personal tactics as a captain in different match situations.

“I have best wishes for him that he leads Pakistan for a long period of time and joins the list of successful Pakistan captains. It will be beneficial for him as well as Pakistan because when our top-level performer will start winning as a captain, his confidence will be even higher,” Hafeez added.

About the author

Vishwas Gupta