England Legend Declares Babar Azam as His Favorite Pakistani Cricketer

Former England fast bowler James Anderson has named Babar Azam as his favourite cricketer from Pakistan.

Anderson made the remark during a rapid-fire segment with TNT Sports, where he was asked to choose his favourite cricketers from different countries.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest swing bowlers in cricket history, Anderson recently retired at the age of 41. He finished his Test career with 704 wickets, the most by a fast bowler in the format.

During the rapid-fire round, Anderson selected Shane Warne from Australia, Joe Root from England, Tim Southee from New Zealand, AB de Villiers from South Africa, and Virat Kohli from India.

For Pakistan, Anderson surprised many by choosing Babar Azam, overlooking several former legends of the game.

At 31, Babar Azam is widely regarded as Pakistan’s modern-day great. He has scored over 15,000 runs in international cricket and is the leading run-scorer in T20 international history with 4,429 runs. Based on these achievements, Anderson described Babar as the finest cricketer to have played for Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s next major tournament is the T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled for February in India and Sri Lanka.

According to reports, Pakistan has submitted a preliminary 20-member squad to the International Cricket Council for the tournament. The squad includes Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shadab Khan.

Former captain Mohammad Rizwan has reportedly been left out, with head coach Mike Hesson preferring Usman Khan as the wicketkeeper.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has been selected despite a knee injury, while Babar Azam’s recent performances in the Big Bash League (BBL) reportedly played a role in his selection.