Former England captain Michael Vaughan responded to a recent video shared by ex-Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, showcasing his preparations for the upcoming Test series in Australia.
Azam, aged 29, stepped down as Pakistan’s cricket team captain after their disappointing exit from the ICC ODI World Cup.
[ez-toc]
Despite the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) urging him to continue leading the Test side, Babar chose otherwise, leading to Shaheen Shah Afridi taking over the white-ball captaincy and Shan Masood becoming the Test skipper.
The video, posted on social media platforms, displayed Babar Azam refining his batting skills during a practice session, captioned as “Back in harness.”
[ez-toc]
Michael Vaughan, among numerous fans, noticed the Instagram video. The former English captain commented, “Exceptional, I predict he’ll score plenty of runs Down Under”
During Babar Azam’s captaincy, Pakistan achieved several milestones across formats, witnessing significant improvement in his batting prowess. He became the fastest Pakistani to reach 1,000 ODI runs and was the first from his country to hit three consecutive centuries in the 50-over format.
Under his leadership, Pakistan ascended to the top of the ICC ODI team rankings. However, their recent World Cup performance was below par, managing only four wins out of nine matches during the league stage, resulting in a fifth-place finish, and narrowly missing the semi-finals.
Azam also faced challenges displaying his top form in the tournament, accumulating 320 runs in nine games at an average of 40, with four half-centuries.