Ian Chappel believes Babar Azam among top five batters

Ian Chappel believes Babar Azam among top five batters

Cricket

Ian Chappel believes Babar Azam among top five batters.

MELBOURNE (ONLINE) - Babar Azam, Pakistan’s all-format captain, has made himself as one of the finest leading batsmen in modern-day cricket because of his consistency in scoring runs across formats.

Former players now think Babar is on par with contemporary batting greats after being compared to players like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Steve Smith.

Ian Chappell, former Australian captain, appreciated Babar Azam for his techniques, shot selection and drives, saying, “Babar is a complete player with his flowing drives and all-around shot range.”

"To round out the picture, he has a game that fits all three formats, but his Test batting, with an ability to compile centuries, stands out," Chappell wrote in his piece for ESPNcricinfo about the top batters in modern cricket.

Babar had a horrible Test series in Australia back in 2016-17 and Chappel pointed that pacer Josh Hazlewood dominated him, leading to concerns over his ability to play in these conditions.

However, he excelled on his second tour DownUnder by scoring a century at the Gabba and 97 at the Adelaide Oval which enhanced "his reputation as a player."

It must be noted that Babar has scored over 10,000+ runs in international cricket. He has 26 centuries to his name since making his debut in 2015.