Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has taken a dig at Pakistan captain Babar Azam while stating that the latter isn’t able to take the attack to the opposition in limited-overs cricket.
Azam is currently leading Peshawar Zalmi in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight. He is currently the second highest scorer in the event with 480 runs in 10 innings at a strike-rate of 148.6.
“Let [Mohammad] Rizwan take a single and bowl five deliveries to Babar, because he won’t inflict damage on you. Babar is a very good batter in Test cricket, but not in T20s or even for the ODIs. I feel there might be better players than him over in Pakistan,” Harbhajan said while speaking on a YouTube channel.
Earlier, during an interview Azam disclosed that he plays 500-600 balls daily.
"I think when you practice hard, only then you can perform in the match. I play 500-600 balls daily during my practice. Even double balls when I am out of form. I believe practice is so important for anyone who wants to perform on the ground," he said.
Azam became the fastest player to score 9,000 runs in T20 cricket during the PSL 8 Eliminator against Islamabad United on Thursday in Lahore.
Before the match, Azam needed 35 runs to achieve the milestone which he did with ease courtesy some splendid shots.
Fastest to 9,000 runs in T20 cricket in terms of innings
245 - Babar Azam
249 - Chris Gayle
271 - Virat Kohli
273 - David Warner
Azam took only 27 innings to move from 8,000 to 9,000 runs in the shortest format of the game.
It must be noted that Singh announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2021. He represented India in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is – claiming 417, 269 and 25 wickets, respectively.
In an international career that lasted from 1998 to 2016, the off-spinner was a part of the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup-winning squad.
The 41-year-old was also a useful contributor with the bat, scoring 3569 runs with two centuries and nine fifties.
- Babar Azam