Afridi, Sarfaraz believe Babar needs an aggressive opener alongside him

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, heaped praise on Babar Azam and termed him one of the best T20 batsmen in the world.

While responding to a question about criticism on Babar’s strike-rate in T20s, Sarfaraz said that the Pakistan captain plays the role of an anchor, which is also an important aspect in the shortest format.

"My opinion is different that if there is a partner alongside Babar [who can accelerate]. If I am the captain, I would want Babar to open for my team and play full 20 overs," Sarfaraz said on a local TV channel.

"If Babar is scoring 80 runs for me at one end, so my team would easily post 170 or 180. He is an anchor and other batsmen can play around him," he added.

Former Pakistan cricketer, Shahid Afridi, also echoed similar thoughts in an interview with an Indian YouTube channel last week.

"Babar takes time to build his innings and he needs a partner who has a strike rate of 140 plus since the powerplay is important and you have to make full use of it," Afridi said.

"So, strike rate matters a lot in T20 format, and after this PSL, we have players coming up who can build a solid partnership at the top of the order alongside Babar," he concluded.