Pakistan batting legend Younis Khan was lavished praise on the young batting sensation Babar Azam, saying the young gun has all the potential to become his successor in the national side.
The Test great also believes that the 23-year-old has a bright future ahead and the right-hander will do well a lot for Pakistan cricket with his extremely stylish skills of batting.
Younis, who retired along with former Pakistan great Misbah-ul-Haq last year is also confident that Babar, who is regarded as one of the best batsman across the globe at the moment, will be crucial for Pakistan in their much-anticipated Test series in England, starting at The Lord’s on 24 May.
So far, Babar scored 548 runs in 12 Tests since making his Test debut for Pakistan in 2016, and his fielding efforts are also outstanding, and his White-ball record is even more fabulous, as he is the fastest Pakistani and joint fastest in the world to 1,000 ODI runs.
Younis told Omnisport, “I think Babar will be [the next Younis]. I think he's extremely stylish and he has the potential. If he plays, and he works on his fitness, then I think he will perform a lot for Pakistan.”
Many believe that Pakistan is quite weak to handle England’s attack without Younis and Misbah, but former batsman believes that there are enough emerging players to handle it.
He explained, “They will handle it. People have a lot of concerns about this [struggling to cope with the pressure] but I think they will be okay. Babar is growing up and he performs not only in the one-dayers and Twenty20 games, he performs everywhere. So, I think they will be able to handle these kinds of conditions and I think Pakistan is in a good shape as well, so I think this will be a nice series.”
On being asked who he expects to stand out in England, Younis signed off by saying, “I think Azhar Ali is in good form, I think Asad [Shafiq] needs some back-up and he should lift his game as well. So, I think these two and Sarfraz [Ahmed] - he is a good leader. I think they will be able to handle this pressure.”
