Former India opening batter Gautam Gambhir has said that Babar Azam will be Pakistan’s greatest batter when he ends his career. Babar recently stepped down from captaincy in all three formats of the game following Pakistan’s under-par ODI World Cup campaign in India.
Gambhir said we might see the best of Babar now, while calling him a top quality batter. Shan Masood has taken over the reins as Test skipper while Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the white-ball sides.
“It’s an individual choice of players to leave or accept captaincy. Babar Azam is still a top quality batter for me. We might get to see the best of Babar Azam now. In Pakistan, all the blame as well as the appreciation only goes to the captain. It happens to an extent in India as well, but not to the level that it happens in Pakistan,” said Gambhir.
He went on to say that Babr could reach a different level as a batter after leaving captaincy, adding that he could become Pakistan’s best by the time he retires. Babar has scored 3772 runs in 49 Tests, 5729 runs in 117 ODIs and 3485 runs in 104 T20Is for Pakistan.
“There were never question marks over Babar Azam’s batting. The question marks were over his captaincy. Now that he has left it, you will see Babar reaching a different level as a batter. Even today, he is one of Pakistan’s top batters. When Babar Azam ends his career, he will be Pakistan’s greatest batter. He is still young and can play for another 10 years as a batter. He himself might not know what he can achieve,” Gambhir added.
Babar is currently in Australia as Pakistan take on the Baggy Greens in the first Test of their three-match Test series at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Pakistan are aiming to win their first-ever Test series down under under the new leadership of Masood.
