New Delhi: A brilliant century by Babur Azam He led Peshawar Zalmi to a huge victory by 118 runs, which attracted the attention of the whole world. While the knock drew widespread praise from former Pakistan stars Basit Ali and Kamran Akmal, both cautioned against reading too much into Babar’s international form.Basit was particularly impressed with the quality of Babar’s innings and called it one of the best innings he has seen in the PSL. According to experts, a major factor behind Babar’s success is his partnership with Kosal Mendes, who scored 83 runs off 44 balls in the match.
“When Mendis scored his century, Babar gave him great support. This time Babar scored a century and Mendis gave him great support,” Kamran explained, adding, “This combination is very suitable for Peshawar Zalmi.” Basit agreed, noting how the partnership has allowed Babar to play freely: “In the last two or three years, there was no batsman with him… Mendes has made a huge difference.” Despite the praise, both analysts dismissed the idea that the innings answered questions about Babar’s international performance. “There is a world of difference between international cricket and PSL,” Basit said clearly. He added, “If Babar shows even fifty percent of that quality in international cricket, we will appreciate him… You can’t mix PSL with that. It’s not top bowling. It’s not top teams.”Kamran echoed the sentiment, adding, “There is no such batting line-up in the Pakistan team. Sometimes they send him at four, sometimes at three; it hurts him and it hurts the team.”
