West Indies legend and Quetta Gladiators’ mentor Sir Viv Richards thinks that young players looking to take up T20 cricket should learn from Pakistan and Karachi Kings captain Babar Azam.

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Viv Richards compared Babar Azam to Mohammad Ali and said that he possesses the same class as the legendary boxer along with his trademark traits.

“Babar reminds me of Mohammad Ali; he is that classy sort of a boxer, he doesn’t want to knock you out too quickly. But you know when the match is over, you will be bruised because Babar never stops jabbing you. He’s a class act,” Viv explained.

“Any young players looking to take inspiration from players, take some from Babar because he doesn’t try and hit every ball for six. Instead, he is all about finding gaps. Babar is one of the best in achieving this.”

While naming his favourites for the upcoming T20 World Cup, Viv Richards said that he is backing West Indies and Pakistan.

I recently saw West Indies perform and I believe if they keep performing as they do, they can do justice to the Windies. We all know that we did not represent ourselves well in the last T20 World Cup,” he said. “My team away from home is Pakistan because I cannot leave them out of the picture.”

Speaking about PSL’s quality compared to other T20 domestic leagues, Viv Richards said that it is one of the better tournaments.

“PSL has attracted so many great players to this league. It is one of the better tournaments where T20 is concerned,” he said.