Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja has said that the Men in Green’s Twenty20 International (T20I) captain Babar Azam has the ability to surpass Indian skipper and star batsman Virat Kohli. While talking during a show on a local news channel, the renowned commentator said that Azam needed an engaging atmosphere to thrive. “For Babar Azam sky is the limit. Until and unless he gets the environment which is encouraging and engaging, he won’t be able to love up to his potential. He has the potential to even beat Virat Kohli but he needs to free up his mind and not think about losing. As soon as he does that and thinks about scoring runs and winning, he will remain a great player for a very long time,” said Raja.

Raja, who was part of Pakistan’s triumphant 1992 World Cup side, also talked about the reasons behind Indian cricket team’s improved performances over the last decade. “The first thing about it [rise of Indian cricket in the past 10 years] is nationalist approach. Secondly they have worked extensively on grass roots level,” he said. “The culture of batting is implanted in their young kids from the very beginning. Despite more emphasis on T20 cricket these days, they still focus on teaching the forward defensive shot to their youngsters in order to establish a strong base. The same goes for their bowling because they knew that it was inferior as compared to Pakistan, so changed their approach and put in a great deal of effort in terms of coaching methods and quick pitches to turn things around in this regard,” he added.