Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is going through a lean patch at the moment, as he failed in the Australia series, and even failed to get a fifty throughout the series. Over the last few days, he has been getting a lot of criticism as well. But New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has come out in the support of Babar, calling him a ‘world-class player’.
In a press conference prior to the Pakistan vs New Zealand T20I series, Williamson conceded that Babar was a threat for the Kiwi team, in the series. “He [Babar] is a world class player. Cricket comes with a full range of feeling and emotions and part of it is navigating each day and looking to improve. He is one of the best players in the world and I am sure he will be doing that and that doesn’t change overnight. We know he is a big threat,” Williamson was quoted as saying by CricketPakistan.com.
Williamson went on to say that Pakistan’s results against Australia won’t have any bearing on the T20I series. “Pakistan is always a fantastic opportunity. They are consistently one of the best teams in the world and in all conditions, so to have them to have them here in our backyard and having another contest is great,” he said.
Reflecting on the familiarity between the two teams, Williamson mentioned their previous encounters, including a tri-series before the last World Cup where Pakistan emerged victorious.
“We played a tri-series series prior to the last World Cup. They won that and they obviously went a long way in that competition as well and so we know how strong they are as a team,” he concluded.
