The 25-year-old made his Test debut when Arthur was the head coach of Pakistan
15 December, 2019
PHOTO: AFP
Despite being the head coach of Sri Lanka, Mickey Arthur was pleased to see Babar Azam score a century on the fifth and final day of the Rawalpindi Test.
The 25-year-old knocked his third Test century with a boundary off spinner Dilruwan Perera and ended with 102 not out, which came in 151 minutes of punishing batting spiced by 14 crisp boundaries.
Babar made his Test debut when Arthur was the head coach of Pakistan and the 51-year-old is happy to see the progress of right-hand batsman in the longest format of the game.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a sense of satisfaction out of watching Babar play today,” said Arthur. “He is in the top 4 in world cricket in any format now. If you don't get him out within 20 balls or so, he will punish you."
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Arthur also welcomed the return of Test cricket to Pakistan.
"I miss the Pakistani boys, the dressing room, the crowd, the passion, the noise, the chaos,” said Arthur. “It's a wonderful place to be and I'll never forget the 3 wonderful years I had here.”
"To come back to Pakistan and see the crowd and to know what it means for Pakistan has been quite special," he added.
