'He Doesn't Have Too Many Weaknesses': Australia Stars Praise Babar Azam Ahead of Test Series Opener

Australian cricketers have lavished praise on Pakistan star Babar Azam ahead of their upcoming Test series starting on December 14.

The first Test match between India and Australia will take place at the Optus Stadium in Perth while the remaining two games will be played in Melbourne.

Ahead of the series opener, Cricket Australia shared a video on their YouTube channel in which the Aussies were explaining why Babar is easily amongst the ‘upper echelon’ of batters in modern cricket.

“He’s been battling hard out in the middle…he doesn’t have too many weaknesses…pretty tight technique”, Australia captain Pat Cummins said.

The likes of Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc also chimed in to discuss what makes Babar so special.

One of the more recognisable pacers in the world, Hazlewood said that Babar has changed his game to be a lot more effective in Test cricket.

“He’s just a class player [who] has been playing for a long time and then you know changed his game to be strong in the Test Arena as well,” Hazlewood explained.

Lyon, the most prolific offspinner in Australian cricket history, said, “Babar is extremely talented, he’s got beautiful hands…he scored some runs I think it was Gaba last time…always wants to compete against the best players in the world and he’s definitely one of them.”

Australia’s World Cup star Mitchell Starc is hopeful to keep Babar quiet and prevent him from making any impact in the upcoming series.

“He’s got all the shots, he’s someone who can build an innings or can be ultra-aggressive and take a game away…he’s one of the world’s best and hopefully we can keep him quiet,” Starc said.

Australia are the current holders of the ICC World Test Championship and this is their second series of the ongoing cycle.

They won the WTC final against India back in June this year.

Pakistan will be hoping for some success on the Australian shores.

They had a disappointing showing at the World Cup which led Babar stepping down as the captain from all three formats of cricket.

Shan Masood will be leading the side against Australia in Perth.