Zahid Mehmood recalls dismissing Babar Azam, targets Kohli next

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Leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood, in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, recalled his experience of bowling to Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam.

The leg-spinner believes Babar has a wide range of shots in his batting armour, which makes it a difficult proposition to bowl to him.

"I got the chance to bowl at Babar twice and I bowled really well against him. I even dismissed him four years ago in a Ramazan cricket tournament. It is always a pleasure bowling to him. Whenever you bowl against a good batsman, you find out where you stand as a bowler," Mehmood said.

"He is a star and there is a clear difference between Babar and other batsmen. It is not easy to bowl against him because he can play any shot at any time," he added.

Apart from Babar, Mehmood enjoys watching Australian batsman Steve Smith and Indian captain Virat Kohli bat and is eagerly waiting for an opportunity to bowl to them in international cricket.

"I admire Steve Smith and Virat Kohli as batsmen and my wish is to bowl to them. Whenever I will get the opportunity to bowl [to Virat Kohli], I will give my 100 per cent," he said.

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The Dadu-born cricketer revealed his bowling inspirations and how he has learned valuable tips from watching them bowl.

"In recent times, I have been following Imran Tahir and Rashid Khan’s progress and I try to learn from watching their bowling videos. I have also worked with Mushtaq Ahmed, which has improved my skill set," he said.

Mehmood also credited veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi for helping him in the early stages of his career.

"Five years ago, I met Shahid Afridi at Customs Academy and he shared few tips with me regarding leg-spin. I learnt bowling drifters from him, so he guided me really well," he said.

The 32-year-old has taken 32 wickets in five matches in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and is currently the third highest wicket taker of the season.

"The most memorable performance of my career came against Northern this season, when I picked 10 wickets in the match," he said.

FULL INTERVIEW