Former England skipper Michael Vaughan responded to a recent video posted by ex-Pakistan captain Babar Azam, showcasing his preparations for the upcoming three-match Test series in Australia.
Azam, 29, relinquished his role as Pakistan's cricket team captain following their heartbreaking exit from the ICC ODI World Cup. Despite the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) urging him to continue leading the Test side, Babar opted out, leading to Shaheen Shah Afridi taking over the white-ball captaincy and Shan Masood being appointed as the Test skipper.
The video on social platforms depicted Babar Azam honing his batting skills during a practice session, captioned, “Back in harness.”
Apart from numerous fans, the Instagram video also caught the attention of Michael Vaughan. The former English captain commented, “Different class. Loads of runs Down under is my guess.”
During Babar Azam’s captaincy tenure, Pakistan achieved several milestones across formats, witnessing his own batting prowess improve significantly. He became the fastest Pakistani to reach 1,000 ODI runs and was the first from his country to register three consecutive centuries in the 50-over format.
Under his leadership, Pakistan ascended to the top of the ICC ODI team rankings. However, their recent World Cup performance was subpar, securing only four wins out of nine matches during the league stage, culminating in a fifth-place finish, narrowly missing the semi-finals.
Azam also struggled to exhibit his best form in the tournament, accumulating 320 runs in nine games at an average of 40, with the help of four half-centuries.
- Babar Azam
