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Smith highly rates Babar ahead of home Test tour against Pakistan

The Aussie batter also praised Shaheen Afridi

By Web Desk

June 01, 2023

Babar Azam scored a century in Australia - Cricinfo

Australia's Test specialist batter Steve Smith has highly rated Babar Azam ahead of their three-match Test series against Pakistan which is scheduled at the end of this year.

In a video shared by Cricket Australia, Smith praised Babar's work ethic and his improvement as a batter over the years.

"Babar Azam is a wonderful player. In the last few years, he has got better and better. He is someone we have to look out for. He is dangerous, he makes big scores and he usually does it at a pretty good pace as well," he lauded.

Babar is currently fifth in the ICC Test rankings for batters. He has represented Pakistan in 47 Tests, scoring 3696 runs at an average of 48.6.

On the other hand, Smith also praised Shaheen Shah Afridi and said it will be interesting to watch him during the series.

"Shaheen Shah Afridi, he came out here [Australia] last series. Since then, he’s got better and better. The ability to swing it back is obviously a big key for him so he’s certainly one we’ll have to look out for this year," he said.

Smith also shared his excitement about seeing the Pakistani crowd during the series.

"Pakistan is such a proud cricketing nation. They have got supporters all around the world. Their fans come in numbers to watch the match which gives real excitement," he concluded.