Pakistan batter Babar Azam (left) and former England batter Kevin Pietersen. — Instagram/Reuters/@babarazam
Pakistani batter Babar Azam playfully trolled former captain Kevin Pietersen when requested about whether or not he was listed in his all-time favorite cricket stars.
“As a youngster, I looked up to AB de Villiers — he’s my all-time favourite,” Babar responded to the question about his cricket idol throughout a current look on Pietersen’s YouTube channel.
When Pietersen jokingly requested whether or not he was featured second or third on Babar’s listing of favourites. The previous Pakistan captain answered with a smile and replied bluntly: “No… sixth or seventh.”
The 31-year-old threw gentle on his admiration for AB de Villiers, recalling how deeply the South African legend influenced his early years.
“When I was younger, I used to copy him, like his stance and his batting posture, his shots. In 2007, I was a ball picker in the stadium, so the first time there I saw de Villiers, I just froze and said my idol is here,” he stated.
“I shook his hand and later on playing in PSL, and then I said to him, I need your time, I have a good relation with AB and I told him that you are my favourite, my hero,” he added.
Lately, Pietersen himself adopted a humorous strategy whereas reacting to Babar ending his worldwide century drought.
Taking to X, the 45-year-old shared a behind-the-scenes image from a web session with Babar and jokingly took credit score for the batter’s return to type.
“My net session with Babar Azam definitely helped him get his flow back and scoring 100s again!” Pietersen posted, including a laughing emoji.
The image was from September, when Babar joined Pietersen for his newly launched mission, The Swap, that includes conversations and periods with prime present cricketers.
Babar, who beforehand scored a world century towards Nepal within the ACC Males’s Asia Cup 2023, lastly introduced up one other hundred after 83 innings and an 807-day wait.
His match-winning knock powered Pakistan to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.
The century was his twentieth in ODIs, equaling Saeed Anwar’s report for essentially the most by a Pakistani batter within the format.
He additionally surpassed AB de Villiers to change into the third-fastest participant in males’s ODI cricket to achieve 20 a whole lot, reaching the feat in 39 fewer innings than the Proteas nice.
Babar now trails solely South Africa’s Hashim Amla (108 innings) and India’s Virat Kohli (133 innings) on the listing.
