'Can’t compare anyone with Babar': Pakistan's Test batter responds to Fakhar Zaman

Pakistan Test batter Fawad Alam has responded to Fakhar Zaman’s recent remarks praising young left-handed batter Saim Ayub, in which Fakhar called him the “updated version” of Babar Azam.

During a recent interview with a local news platform, Fawad dismissed the comparisons with Babar, calling them unfair and undermining his consistent performances. 

He highlighted Babar’s achievements across all three formats and noted that his talent was evident even in domestic cricket before he became a mainstay in the national team.

“In my opinion, such things shouldn’t be said — you can’t compare anyone with Babar Azam,” Fawad stated. 

“Babar has delivered outstanding performances in all three formats, and when he played so many matches, he had numerous remarkable performances. Even now, and even in domestic cricket, I’ve seen that no one in the current team comes close to him.”

Recently, in a video released by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), Fakhar praised Ayub, comparing him to the 30-year-old, who has earned Pakistan numerous accolades, including multiple International Cricket Council (ICC) awards, through his exceptional batting.

The 35-year-old added that Saim has yet to showcase his full potential.

“Someone asked me in Lahore, and I told him that he is Babar Azam's updated version,” Fakhar said. “He is a very different player, and I think he has not yet shown 80 percent of himself to the world.”

Pakistan men’s cricket team’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson also acknowledged Saim’s impact. 

While noting that the youngster has not made many contributions yet, Hesson emphasised that his runs often come in winning causes for the Green Shirts.

“Look, Saim is a key player for us, and we know that if Saim scores runs, we generally win,” Hesson stated. 

“It's not so much about the quantity of contributions; it’s about match-winning performances, and Saim is certainly one of those players.”

It is pertinent to mention that the young opening batter made his T20I debut for Pakistan in March 2023, has thus far played 41 matches, scoring 816 runs at an average of 22.05 and a strike rate of 136.45 with the help of four half-centuries.

His career-best score of 98 not out came against South Africa in Centurion last year.