Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz has heaped praise on skipper Babar Azam on receiving the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award on the special occasion of 23rd March (Pakistan Day).

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Wahab Riaz stated that Babar is one of the biggest players in world cricket and is mostly admired by fans as he is quite consistent with his performances.

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"Congratulations to Babar Azam for receiving Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Babar is one of the most consistent players in world cricket. I have seen players like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Javed Miandad and we have always admired them, but in near future, people will look at Babar Azam in the same way as they used to watch legend players. It's a big achievement and honour for Babar as he proudly represents Pakistan all over the world through his hard work, dedication and passion," Wahab said.

The left-arm pacer also commended the Pakistan captain for continuing to work on improving his skills despite getting criticized by former players.

"It is a part and parcel of life. Where there is love from people, there is criticism as well. People should also understand such things that if Babar needs some improvement at any point, then he should work on it, because in cricket it's a learning process for you every day. No one is perfect at any point, so we pointed out the mistakes made by Babar and if he trying to overcome them, then hats off to him as this will bring more improvement in his game," he said.  

When asked about Mohammad Amir's aggression towards Babar, the 37-year-old stated that aggression is a part of cricket, and Amir always speaks positively about Babar Azam.

"No, I don't want Amir to downplay his aggression. As a bowler, aggression is the only thing that you have, and whenever I ask about Babar from Amir, he always speaks positively about him and says that Babar Azam is a world class player. He never denied it," he said.

"Amir only criticised Babar when he failed to take the team over the finish line. It's Amir's opinion and he has the right to share his opinion. On the other hand, Babar also understands and respects certain opinions and he always try to improve his game. In the end, whoever wins matches for Pakistan will be respected," he concluded.