Former Pakistan skipper and current team’s wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed hailed team captain Babar Azam as one of the best T20 batters in the world. Sarfaraz backed Babar, who is facing criticism for his slow strike rate in the shortest format of the game, saying that Babar plays the role of an anchor, which is also an important aspect in the shortest format.

Sarfaraz Ahmed said on a Pakistani local TV channel –

“My opinion is different that if there is a partner alongside Babar [who can accelerate]. If I am the captain, I would want Babar to open for my team and play full 20 overs. If Babar is scoring 80 runs for me at one end, so my team would easily post 170 or 180. He is an anchor and other batsmen can play around him.”

Babar’s T20I strike rate hovers around 123. While the strike rate of other batters who are considered greatest in the T20 sport hovers around 145 to 150. Meanwhile, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also aired the same sentiments in an earlier interview to an Indian Youtube channel last week.

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Shahid Afridi said –

“Babar takes time to build his innings and he needs a partner who has a strike rate of 140 plus since the powerplay is important and you have to make full use of it. So, strike rate matters a lot in T20 format, and after this PSL, we have players coming up who can build a solid partnership at the top of the order alongside Babar.”