Former Australian opener Simon Katich said Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique will become a better player than Babar Azam.
The 24-year-old opener has an average of 50.8 after 14 Test matches and is among the top 20.batters in the ICC’s Test batter rankings.
Babar is the fourth ranked batter in the Test rankings and has almost touched the 13,000 international runs mark, highlighting how highly Katich rates the new start batter of the Men in Green.
Along with Imam-ul-Haq, Shafique took Pakistan’s total to 72 runs before he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon in the first innings of the opening Test against Australia in Perth.
“He’s a good young player and has done well in Test cricket. Abdullah Shafique is aggressive against the spinners and that’s what make him a special player,” Katich told Channel 7.
“We saw him in Pakistan last year against Australia. He went hard against Nathan Lyon and hit him straight back over his head.
“I like his batting style. For me, he is going to be a better player than Babar Azam.”
Shafique’s batting average was 79.4 when Australia played in Pakistan last year.