Babar Azam has spoken about the toughest bowlers he has faced during his career, naming former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn as a key challenge.
The former Pakistan captain appeared in a challenge video on former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen’s YouTube channel, The Switch, where he took part in a short-ball challenge.
During the interview, Pietersen asked Babar about his toughest battles against fast bowlers. In response, Babar said that nowadays almost every team has bowlers who can clock speeds above 150 kilometres per hour. He recalled his first tour of South Africa, where he faced Dale Steyn.
Babar said Steyn’s deliveries were both fast and challenging but playing that innings boosted his confidence. He added that after facing Dale Steyn, one of the fastest bowlers in the world, he felt confident he could handle any bowler.
He also praised South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, calling him one of the finest bowlers across formats, including Test matches and One-Day Internationals.
It is worth noting that Babar Azam is one of the most dominant batters in the shorter format of the game. He is the all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is, with 4,429 runs in 136 matches at an average of 39.54 and a strike rate of 128.45.
He also shares the record for the most half-centuries in T20 internationals with India’s Virat Kohli, having scored 38 fifties.
Recently, the top-order batter achieved another milestone by making his debut in the Big Bash League 15th edition for the Sydney Sixers. In eight matches, he scored 154 runs at a strike rate of 104.05, including two half-centuries.