I thought Babar Azam would survive in Tests and ODIs but not in T20Is: Shahid Afridi

Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket captain Babar Azam is on his way to becoming a legendary batsman. The prolific batsman has extraordinary records in all the three formats of the game. In his short international cricket career, Babar has managed to score 3,359 ODI runs and 1,471 T20 runs in just 74 and 38 games respectively.

The top-order batsman has also smashed 1,850 runs in the longest format of the game maintaining an average of 45.1 in 26 games. However, Pakistan’s legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi recently revealed that he initially didn’t think that Azam could excel in the shortest format of the game.

Though he had confidence that Babar would perform well in the Tests and One-day Internationals. Afridi added that Babar could survive in the T20s due to his zeal of giving his best in the game. 

Shahid Afridi lauds Babar Azam’s hard work

“I thought Babar Azam would survive in Tests and ODIs but not in T20Is. This was my opinion. But the way that guy has polished and groomed himself. The shots he plays. It depends on the goals you set yourself. It is always hard work.

I can’t just keep thinking that I want to be like AB de Villiers or Virat Kohli. If you don’t work hard enough it can never be possible. In order to achieve any goal you always have to work hard,” Afridi said in his interview with Zainab Abbas on Sunday. 

Further in the interview, the Pakistan veteran also shed light on his favourite cricketers from the current Pakistan cricket squad. Showering praises on Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim, Afridi said that both are very good all-rounders and can do wonders for the team. 

“Some players in the team right now, like Shadab, I really like. He has the ability to be a good all-rounder for the team. I like Hasan Ali a lot. I hope he regains fitness soon. I think Imad Wasim can be a very good all-rounder as well. Being a good all-rounder means that these guys can win Pakistan many matches. An all-rounder has a lot of value on any side,” he said.