ICC World Cup 2019 | Babar Azam has the capacity to level up to his idol Virat Kohli, says Grant Flower
Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower has stated that Babar Azam is a good enough batsman and has the obvious quality to match Virat Kohli’s standards. Flower, one of the best batsmen of his time, has also added that Azam would go on to become one of the best that Pakistan have ever produced.
While he has always struggled in Test cricket, with his record being less than average, Babar Azam’s prowess as an ODI batsman has never been in doubt. While Azam often failed in converting the scores to big ones, his temperament and class as a batsman found a lot of admirers, with many likening him to the inimitable class of Virat Kohli. The century against New Zealand brought the discussion to the fore again and Grant Flower added fuel to the same, by saying the Pakistani No.3 has the capacity to level up to “his idol” Virat Kohli.
"He is very special. I believe he is going to be one of the best that Pakistan have ever produced. He's really hungry, is fit and still very young," Flower was quoted as saying by India Today.
"I think he'll have a really good career if he keeps his feet on the ground, which I think he will. He's got Virat's hunger. I think he could be at some point in the future.”
While Pakistan have under been on the line of fire for their batting displays time and time again, Azam’s contributions have generally slipped under the radar. So it was fitting that he played an innings for life when the chips are down and that resulted in Pakistan keeping their hopes of qualification alive. Flower termed the innings as the Lahore-born batsman’s best century for the fact it came on a “tough” wicket.
"He's definitely got that hunger, so if you practice as hard as he does, and you have his skills, I can't see why he can't get to the top. He's had flu over the last couple of days. Tuesday was the first time I've not seen him hit any balls the day before a match. Confidence-wise, this is definitely his best one (century)."
"I've seen him get quite a few hundreds on pretty flat wickets, but this was a tough wicket - it was turning, (Lockie) Ferguson was bowling fast and there was a lot of pressure because of the context of the tournament,” the Zimbabwean concluded.