Rashid Latif lauds Imran Khan’s strong, timely statement on Babar Azam

Rashid Latif on Sunday appreciated Imran Khan's strong and timely statement about Babar Azam, the current captain of the Pakistan national cricket team.

While speaking on his YouTube channel Caught Behind, Latif praised Khan's deep understanding of the game of cricket, highlighting that the former captain has an astute eye for talent and has made accurate predictions about many players in the past.

According to Latif, Khan's cricketing acumen is unparalleled in the world, which makes his statement about the Pakistan captain significant.

"[Imran] Khan sahab has given a very strong statement. There is no match to his cricketing acumen in the whole world. He made predictions about many players in the past and most of them came true. One or two mistakes can happen. But he keeps a keen eye on cricket, so his statement was timely," said Latif.

In a recent interview, Khan lauded Babar’s batting potential, stating that he has the ability to surpass his contemporaries.

"Our captain [Babar Azam] is an outstanding batsman. I have seen a batsman of such quality after a very long time. I have analysed him in every way, because I analyse batsman through a bowler’s lens. His technique, talent and temperament are all brilliant. It is very rare to find all three of these things in one batsman, but he has them all. He has the potential to go ahead of everyone," Khan had said.

Meanwhile, Babar is set to be retained as Pakistan captain for all three formats till the 2023 World Cup in India.

Earlier this month, Chairman of the PCB Management Committee, Najam Sethi, had announced Babar as captain only for the New Zealand series. He offered conditional backing to Babar and said that Pakistan captain will not be changed as long as the team keeps winning, and the final decision will be made in consultation with Mickey Arthur.

Arthur recently arrived in Pakistan for a short visit and was announced as Pakistan’s team director on Thursday during a press conference.

During his visit, Arthur held meetings with Sethi, in which he casted his vote in favour of Babar, stating that the star batter has the ability to take the team in right direction, so there is no reason for a change in captaincy.

Sethi has already approved Arthur’s recommendation. An official announcement regarding retaining Babar as captain in all three formats until the World Cup is expected in the coming days.