Former Pakistani captain Sarfaraz Ahmed didn’t shy away from drawing parallels between his successor Babar Azam and ace Australian spinner Nathan Lyon during the second day of a warm-up match before a three-match Test series between the two teams.
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Azam, who has bowled 15 overs across eight Test innings (all as captain), is not a regular name when it comes to observing bowling scorecards. However, with Matthew Renshaw and Cameron Green simply biding their time in the third session at the Manuka Oval, Pakistan captain Shan Masood thought of introducing his predecessor into the attack.
Bowling the 54th over, Azam conceded only one run before being replaced by another part-time option in Saud Shakeel. Although Masood’s bowling changes didn’t work as neither Azam nor Shakeel was able to pick a wicket, Ahmed considered it as an apt opportunity to provide some entertainment from behind the stumps.
“Nice, Gazza!,” Ahmed chanted as a ball turned mildly right after he had addressed Azam as Bobby (nickname) previously. Shakeel, on the other hand, was being cheered as “Chota Don” by the 36-year old player.
For those who don’t know, Lyon was nicknamed Gazza by Australian wicket-keeper batter Matthew Wade. Additionally, he is also nicknamed Garry for this reason.
Babar Azam Had Picked A Wicket During Last Test Series Against Australia
Babar Azam, who is yet to bowl in both ODIs and T20Is, had picked his one and only international wicket during the second Test of their last series against Australia in Karachi.
Having bowled four out of the 189 overs that Pakistan bowled in the first innings on a flat pitch, Azam had denied what would’ve been Australian wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey’s maiden Test century at the time.
Apart from his brief contribution as a part-time spinner, Azam and a host of Pakistani fans remember that match for his career-best knock in the format. Chasing a 506-run target, Azam faced a staggering 425 balls to save the match for Pakistan who played as many as 171.4 overs on Day 4 and 5.
