Babar Is Going To Break A Lot Of Records: Grant Flower

Former Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower believes that star batsman Babar Azam will be breaking a lot of records

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th May, 2020 ) :Former Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower believes that star batsman Babar Azam will be breaking a lot of records.

"Babar is brilliant. The first time I saw him play and first time I worked with him when I threw balls at him at the academy in Lahore he picked up length so much quicker than the rest of the players and I think that's the hallmark of a great batsman," Flower told Stats Perform news as quoted by website www.bdcrictime.com.

"If you look at some of the best players in the world like Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, they pick up length really quickly and play the ball late, have a great eye and hand-eye coordination. He has that and I think he is going to break a lot of records," he added. Flower, who is now Sri Lanka's batting coach, also praises the playing style of Babar in T20s.

"Even in T20 cricket he plays normal cricket shots and that is also the sign of a great player. As long as he stays humble, which I'm sure he will as he's a good bloke, there is no reason why he can't be one of the best and he already pretty much is," he said.

However, the erstwhile Zimbabwe batting great also talked about Babar's new captaincy role in limited-overs cricket. "He's got a good cricketing brain but there's a lot of politics in Pakistan cricket and a lot of pressure from the public. If you start losing, it's one thing being the best batsman but that will put pressure on your batting skills and it can all come tumbling down pretty quickly.

"We've seen with great players in the past the pressures that captaincy can bring, but some players get better and if he gets better then the world is his oyster. Time will tell.

"But he seems pretty positive about it, I read what he said in an interview when he got the captaincy. I wish him all the best and hopefully all positives come with that," Flower added.

Babar Azam averages 45.12 with the bat in Tests, 54.17 in ODIs and 50.72 in T20 International matches.