You need to prove yourself: Ramiz Raja slams Babar Azam

‘Will have to show the world through his temperament that he's Viv Richards...’: Ramiz on Babar

Former Pakistan cricketer and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president Ramiz Raja backed Babar Azam to come good in red-ball cricket, saying that he needs to show the world through his temperament that he is like the West Indies batting legend Vivian Richards.

Ramiz was speaking on his YouTube channel. Notably, Babar was rested from the remainder of the England Test series at home after poor performance and a massive defeat in the first Multan Test. Pakistan went to win the series 2-1, with spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan dominating the next two games.

Speaking on his Youtube Channel, Ramiz said, "I feel Babar has to achieve a lot more in Test cricket. He plays the white-ball format really well, has an average of 50-plus in both the formats (T20I and ODI)...There is so much potential in Babar Azam. Ab unko apne temperament se batana hai duniya mei ke woh ek Viv Richards hain (now he has to prove to the world with his temperament that he is Viv Richards). Bigger the contest, bigger the innings Richards used to play."

Babar is going through a lean patch in Tests. In his last nine Tests and 17 innings, he has scored just 352 innings at an average of 20.71, with his best score being 41. In 55 Tests, Babar has scored 3,997 runs at an average of 43,92, with nine centuries and 26 fifties and best score of 196.

Meanwhile, Richards is considered as one of the greatest players to have played the sport. In 121 Tests and 182 innings, he scored 8,540 runs at an average of 50.23, with 24 centuries and 45 fifties and a best score of 291.

Pakistan announced 15-member squads for white-ball series tours to Australia and Zimbabwe starting from November 4 onwards, with star batter Babar Azam being rested from the Zimbabwe tour and set to play in Australia.