Du Plessis praises Azam Khan, says Sarfaraz's captaincy style is like Kohli

South Africa’s veteran batsman Faf Du Plessis, in an interview with Cricket Pakistan, praised Pakistan’s young hitter Azam Khan while also comparing India’s captain Virat Kohli with Pakistan’s former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, which he believed were similar in nature.

The 36-year-old, who will be representing Quetta Gladiators in the resumed leg of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six, believed that Azam had a lot of power and took on the ball.

“Azam Khan is a good hitter. I haven’t seen much of him since I have just played a couple of games. I think he got that one fifty there towards the end of the competition. He has definitely got a lot of power and he takes the ball on. It will be interesting to keep an eye on him to see what he does in this last leg of the tournament. He will be very driven to do well in this last leg,” Du Plessis said.

South Africa’s former captain also claimed that Sarfaraz was the opposite of Dhoni, stating that his leadership style resembled India’s current captain Virat Kohli.

“They [Sarfaraz Ahmed and MS Dhoni] are quite different. MS is quiet and reserved. He does most of his things instinctively on the field. Sarfaraz is the opposite and almost like Virat [Kohli] in the sense where he is always talking to the players, talking to the bowlers. Always very passionate about how he captains his team and he shows it. There is no right and wrong way, they just have two different styles. He has obviously been a captain for Pakistan who has got the best out of his players. It is good because I always like playing under different leaders to see how they go about their business,” he said.

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Du Plessis believed that pace set the PSL apart from other leagues and was its real gem.

“The standard is very good in PSL. The thing that impressed me most about the tournament is the fast-bowlers. Coming from a country like South Africa where you grow up facing a lot of pace, I was surprised to see the amount of bowlers who could bowl at 140 [kph] plus. I think in India there is a huge variety of spin bowlers. I feel the real gem of the PSL is the amount of pace,” he said.

The Proteas batsman stated that the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was disappointing.

“The tournament [IPL] was well run. Everything went smoothly. We felt safe in the bubble. I think the traveling part of the IPL was probably where it opened up a gap for Covid to come into the tournament. It is very disappointing that another tournament had to be canceled because of Covid. So it was sad. My performances were going really well but also as a team Chennai Super Kings were playing some really good cricket. But yeah just like the PSL, the IPL will probably continue sometime in September,” he concluded.