Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram was left surprised by Babar Azam’s act during the final ODI against Australia on November 10 in Perth. Babar turned ‘doctor’ as he tried to fix Shaheen Afridi’s nearly dislocated thumb.
It all happened in the 26th over of Australia’s innings, as Sean Abbott pulled Afridi’s delivery towards the deep mid-wicket for a single. However, the throw from the fielder took an awkward bounce off the outfield and the ball hit the edge of the pacer’s thumb. Afridi was gremacing in pain, and Babar ran to help his teammate.
The video showed Babar Azam pulling Shaheen Afridi’s thumb, prompting the commentators to take notice of the action in the field. One of the commentators, Brendan Julian said:
“I reckon that’s Babar and he is trying to put the dislocated thumb back.”
Wasim Akram responded by saying:
“How does Babar know how to do that?”
Nevertheless, the physio came into the rescue and Afridi returned a few overs later to dismiss Abbott. Afridi along with Naseem Shah bagged three wickets apiece as Australia were bundled out for 140.
In response, Saim Ayub (47) and Abdullah Shafique (37) provided a good start to the visitors. Thereafter, Babar (28*) and Mohammad Rizwan (30*) remained unbeaten as Pakistan chased down the score under 27 overs. As a result, they won the ODI series 2-1.
Michael Vaughan hails Babar Azam as “world class”
In a recent interaction with Fox Cricket, Michael Vaughan praised Babar Azam’s impressive track record across all formats. He also feels that Babar will eventually make a return to the test team after being dropped from the side due to his bad form.
Vaughan’s comments came after he was listing his top three Pakistan batters of all-time. He picked Babar at the third position, Inzimam Ul Haq at second and Javed Miandad as the best batter. He said:
“I am going to go with a modern-day player, a modern-day asset. Just lost his place in the Test team, but I’m sure he’ll get it back. He is world-class across all formats.”
“His average is 47 across those formats, and in ODIs, he’s nearly averaging 57,” he added.
Babar Azam has certainly been one of the finest batters Pakistan has ever produced. He has slammed 5,809 runs in 120 ODIs at an average of around 57, with 19 centuries. Meanwhile, he holds an average of over in Tests and T20Is as well.
The right-hander will next be seen in action in the T20I series against Australia, beginning on Thursday, November 14.
