Mohammad Yousuf lauds Babar Azam for consistency across formats

Pakistan batting great Mohammad Yousuf heaped effusive praise over contemporary national and modern-day giant, Babar Azam, for being an incredibly consistent player across all three formats at the international stage. 

Yousuf believes Babar's consistency is a hallmark of his range and pedigree as the linchpin of Pakistan batting, around whom the Asian giant's fortunes revolve. 

The current Pakistan batting coach was talking up his team's captain for strong individual performances over the years ahead of the Asia Cup 2022. 

Speaking to the press in Dubai after Pakistan's first training session in the build-up to the high voltage clash with arch-rivals India, Yousuf noted Babar Azam's ability to keep the captaincy load at bay and maintain a fine balance between managing the side and also putting in the hard yards with bat in hand. 

Mohammad Yousuf praise Babar Azam 

"Babar Azam is a world class player and his consistent performance in all three formats from the last three years is the solid proof of his flight," Yusuf acknowledged Babar's rise into an all-format star for Pakistan at a time when he is also having to shoulder the captaincy responsibilities. 

"It’s never easy for a captain to focus on his skills," Yusuf stressed, recognising Babar as a rare commodity, who "is performing well in all three formats" despite that. 

Since taking over the mettle of captaincy at the start of 2021, Babar Azam has averaged 51.28 over 13 Tests, 81.56 in 18 ODIs and 42.30 with a strike-rate of 132.19 in 41 T20Is. During his tenure, Babar has overseen 8 wins in Tests, 12 in ODIs and 26 in T20Is while taking his own game to a whole new level. 

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Hailed already as one of the finest players to have come out of Pakistan, the right-hander is currently ranked No.1 in ODIs and T20Is and holds the No.3 spot in Test match rankings in men's international cricket. 

Always a proficient player in white-ball cricket, Babar has been on a different plane altogether in Test cricket since the 2019-20 tour of Australia where he dominated a much-vaunted attack in challenging conditions Down Under. Ever since that trip, Babar is averaging 60.87 in Tests for Pakistan with 6 hundreds and 12 fifties to his name.