Joining the debate on the ‘best batsman in the world,’ former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn has given his stamp of approval to Pakistan skipper Babar Azam among the current crop of international players. During a Q&A session on Twitter, a fan asked Steyn to pick a name among the current generation of cricketers who can carry the ‘best batter' tag, and the former pacer promptly named Pakistan's current captain Babar, calling him “pretty darn good.”
Taking to his official Twitter account, Steyn replied, “Maybe Babar? He’s pretty darn good” to the question of who was the currently the best batter.
Babar has been creating ripples as the Pakistan captain looks to bring his national team back onto the cricketing map. He is currently the top-ranked batter in men's ODI and T20I rankings and is also among the top five in the longest format of the game.
Babar is also the only batter to feature in the top five in ICC Rankings across all formats of the game.
Another major achievement for Babar after the Australia tour of Pakistan came in the ICC all-time ODI Rankings for batters. The 27-year-old moved above Sachin Tendulkar to 15th position in the all-time ODI Rankings. Following his exemplary performance in the home series against Australia, Babar reached 891 rating points in the men's rankings. In comparison, India’s Master Blaster had 887 rating points by the time he retired.
Earlier this month, the Pakistan skipper also scripted a massive feat as he became the first player to win successive Player of the Month awards, thanks to his incredible performances for Pakistan against Australia. The 27-year-old batter slammed two centuries during the three-Test series against the Aussies and repeated the feat in the three-match ODI series. In the sole T20I, Babar top-scored for Pakistan with 66 runs off 46 deliveries.
Thanks to his consistent performances, many former cricketers and fans have expanded the renowned ‘Fab-4’ in cricket – the list featuring some of the best batters in the world cricket – to ‘Fab-5’. Former India captain Virat Kohli, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, England's Joe Root, and Australia star Steve Smith are widely considered to be part of ‘Fab-4’.
The batter is likely to return to action for Pakistan in June when the side takes on the West Indies in a three-match ODI series.
