Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has dismissed the notion that the Men in Green are over-reliant on him, during a virtual press conference ahead of the first Test against South Africa in Karachi.

The statement comes after South Africa’s middle-order batsman Faf du Plessis had stated that Pakistan team is easy to handle in the absence of Babar.  

“Someone like him [Babar] would be pretty dangerous. If you look at his records across all formats, it’s nothing short of remarkable,” said Du Plessis.

“His injury has proven that if you take out his runs from the team, it becomes a team you can take on pretty easily. With him, Pakistan has got its confidence back,” he added.

Responding to the aforementioned statement, Babar said: “I don’t think that [team’s over-reliance on me] is the case. Other players are performing as well which includes Azhar [Ali] bhai, Rizwan has been outstanding too. Fawad Alam did well in New Zealand. We have always played as a team and everyone contributes.”

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Babar was also upbeat ahead of the upcoming two-match Test series against the Proteas.

“We are very excited because, after a long time, a top team like South Africa has visited Pakistan,” he said. “We have been practicing for the past one week and are fully prepared for the upcoming matches.”