Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif has lavished praise on Babar Azam, rating him ahead of the county’s other legendary cricketers like Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Latif didn’t stop there as he went on to label the current Pakistan skipper as "the Bradman and Lara of this era".
"I had tweeted back in 2019. We were on the tour of England. I had written everyone's name whom I had played with - Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Yousuf, Younus, Saqlain. But he is ahead of them all. I am talking about a long time ago. He's obviously become a big player since", Rashid Latif said on his YouTube channel.
"We can't compare because here I'm not only talking about Babar. All these guys, Virat, Rohit, Williamson - all these cricketers who are playing ODIs, they are batting with 10 fielders".
Latif also mentioned that only one former opener Saeed Anwar is better than Babar among all the great Pakistan batters.
"I'll talk about Saeed (Anwar). There hasn't been a batter quite like him. Undoubtedly, the No.1 batter Pakistan has ever produced. I have seen him from close quarters and trust me, he was a charismatic player. He hardly would practice. So, to compare eras wouldn't be fair", he said.
"Today there are five fielders inside the circle. Back then, there used to be four. Anwar or Inzamam would eat the bowlers if one fielder was less outside the circle. They were greats of that era. He (Babar) is the Bradman and Lara of this era. That's the thing", he further added.
Babar Azam has represented Pakistan in 40 Tests, 86 ODIs and 74 T20Is so far, amassing 9000+ international runs with 23 centuries.
