"Class Player": Babar Azam receives plaudits from Australia bowlers ahead of 1st Test
Dec 10, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 10 : Australia's star-studded bowling line-up showered praises on Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam, with a handful of them labelling the right-handed batter as a "class player".
With each passing day, the hype around the game continues to build up for the highly anticipated series between two cricketing giants.
The series will kick off on December 14 in Perth, when Pakistan will square off against Australia in the first Test of the three-match series.
Ahead of the clash, the former Pakistan captain received a lot of praise from Aussie bowlers with Pat Cummins stating that sending Babar won't be an easy task for them.
"So he's going to be hard work," Cummins said in Cricket Australia's video posted on Instagram.
Experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood called Babar a "class player" and added "has been for a long time. Sort of burst on the scene in ODI cricket and then changed his game to be strong in the Test arena as well."
"If you miss, he hurts you and sort of tries to put that pressure back on you as a bowler," Hazlewood added.
Australia's veteran spinner Nathan Lyon branded Babar as "extremely talented".
"He's got beautiful hands when he bats. He scored some runs. I think it was Gabba's last time he was up here. You always want to compete against the best players in the world and he's definitely one of them," Lyon said while praising Babar.
Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc believes that the 29-year-old batter has a "great batting temperament" and called him as one of the "world's best".
"He's got all shots. He's someone who can build an innings or can be ultra-aggressive and take the game away and change the momentum. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet on this tour," the Aussie pacer asserted," Starc added.
Pakistan squad for Australia Tests: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Australia's First Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, and David Warner.
