DUBAI: Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has made an important prediction regarding top-ranked white ball batsman Babar Azam, claiming that he can replace England’s Joe Root as the world’s number one test batsman.
Jayawardene, in the last episode of ICC Reviewendorsed the Pakistan captain in response to the host’s question as to whether Babar can replace Root as the top-ranked test batsman.
“A difficult one!” Jayawardena said. “I would say that Babar Azam has a chance. He has been consistent in all three formats and it shows in his ranking. He is a naturally gifted player, he plays in all conditions, he also has the game to adapt.
It depends on the amount of cricket, who is playing, when and how much, but Babar could be the one.”
Babar is the only top-three hitter in every format and recently revealed his goal of topping the charts in every format. The right-handed batsman ranks first in both ODIs and T20Is, while he is third in the games longest format. Jayawardene, on the other hand, expressed his confidence in Pakistan’s ability and stated that the former can do it.
“T20Is and ODIs, it’s hard to hang on because there are a lot of good players that have to be consistent,” Jayawardena said.
“As long as he can be that, because he has a very good role to play in that Pakistan setup – they have batsmen to bat around him, so he can play his own game, he should be able to hold on to that and at the same time, push himself to himself to improve.
“He hit well in Sri Lanka. I think Prabath (Jayasuriya) was her nemesis: she caught him three times in four innings. That was a very good battle to watch. Babar got a really good hundred in the first test match.
“He is always going to push himself to get better. Seen in a couple of his recent interviews, his goal is also to be number 1 on the chart. There is nothing wrong with challenging yourself to get there.
“Being the captain as well, he has taken responsibility and acted, which is great to see. (It’s) It’s not an easy thing to do.
“I would put my money on him at least for a while to keep all three, but there are some good quality players who will continue to push him.”
It is pertinent to mention here that Root has a chance to cement his position as number one. Babar, however, will wear the white shirt for Pakistan’s loan at home to England later this year.
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