Star Indian batter, Dinesh Karthik, has lauded Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, and has said that he is at the peak of his career and can become the first player to be ranked as the No.1 batter in all formats of the game.
“One-hundred percent he is capable of achieving that. He is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess and he has got some Test matches coming up. He has been phenomenal in all three formats of the game and he has done well in different batting positions too.”
The Pakistan captain is currently the only batter who is among the top five spots across formats. He is the No.1 in both formats of white-ball cricket and 5th in Test cricket.
While naming the ‘Fab Four’ including India’s Virat Kohli, England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith, and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, Karthik stated that Babar has the talent and ability to make it the ‘Fab Five’.
“It is a very strong ‘Fab Four’ that we are talking about and they have obviously been there for much longer, but there is no doubt that Babar has all the credentials and he is going to make it a ‘Fab Five’. There is no doubt he is there or thereabouts,” Karthik said.
Karthik further claimed that Babar has made subtle changes to his batting technique that have helped him improve as a player.
“The two things that struck me when I watched him bat is his balance and his striking point when he plays the ball. Whether it is on the front foot or the back foot, he strikes the ball at the point where it is optimum power for where the ball is pitched and that makes him a very special player,” Karthik added.
The batter, who made his comeback to India’s national setup after a long time, said that Babar will continue to improve as he learns to adapt to the various conditions that players face when playing away from home.
