Australia Tests brought Babar Azam in the limelight: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian middle-order batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Babar Azam’s performance during last year’s Test matches in Australia brought the latter in the limelight.

Azam got off to a slow start in the longest format of the game but has gradually established himself in red-ball cricket, with the 2019 Australia Tests proving to be a major turning point. The right-hander has scored 1850 runs in 26 Test matches, so far, at an average of 45.12.    

“Babar Azam is someone I am really enjoying [watching]. I am closely following his career. He has scored 4 Test hundreds in last 5 matches. When a person plays like this in Test cricket and scores a 100 and a 90 in Australia, then he gets noticed,” said Manjrekar on Ramiz Raja’s YouTube channel.

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The 54-year-old also named Indian captain and star batsman, Virat Kohli, as one of his favourite batsmen going around.

“Virat Kohli’s attitude towards cricket is admirable. He is a fan of Test cricket, in this day and age, and he raises his game in accordance with the requirement of that format. Actually Test cricket is lucky that a global star like Kohli values it,” he said.

“I have never seen any Indian batting great with so much self-confidence. Even if he fails in 10 innings, he will still go into the 11th match like he is the king,” he added.