Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has heaped praise on right-handed batsman Babar Azam, saying he is as good as swashbuckling Indian batsman Virat Kohli. During the recently concluded Hamilton Test against New Zealand which Pakistan lost by eight wickets, Azam scored an unbeaten 90 and Arthur says the former deserves the high praise.
Meanwhile, Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav were placed third and seventh respectively.
The mutual respect shone through as they exchanged greetings and shared a warm hug on the field.
Australia make solid start to Boxing Day Test in rainy Melbourne
David Warner made 34 in what is likely to be his penultimate innings in the long form of cricket as Australia reached 116 for two on the rain-disrupted second day of the third Test against Pakistan on Thursday.
Pakistan are traditionally good against spinners but Babar Azam and Co. would take the likes of promising Dunith Wellalage and company lightly at their peril.
Pakistan slipped two places to No. 3 with 115 points in ICC's mid-week update.
A haul of eight hundred and 17 fifties during the calendar year was Babar's best of his career to date.
India captain Rohit Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Babar Azam said they hardly talk about cricket when they catch up.
Zaka Ashraf back in Pakistan, discussing 'incidents' in India with senior board officials
'It's about coming together, practising the right way and most importantly, believing in the same belief that they had at the start of the tournament and not change things midway.'
'The matches between India and Pakistan are the biggest in the world.'
Pat Cummins leads Australia fightback after Pakistan take early honours
'Our middle order stepped up in the last two matches'
Rising star Babar Azam hit his third successive hundred to anchor Pakistan's 3-0 clean-sweep of the West Indies with a comfortable 136-run win in the third and final one-dayer on Wednesday. Azam smashed a 106-ball 117 while skipper Azah Ali returned to form with a 109-ball 101 as Pakistan compiled 308-6 before restricting West Indies to 172 in 44 overs on a flat Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch.
India spinner Kuldeep Yadav believes that he was able to create confusion in the minds of Pakistan's batters because they went for high-risk sweep shots despite failing to read his hand during the marquee World Cup clash in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The 22-year-old has already missed the first two games against Australia and Afghanistan but there is a high chance of him making it to the playing XI for the marquee clash against the arch-rivals.
Despite missing the Ireland series, Suryakumar Yadav remains on the top spot in the T20I rankings for batters.
Images from the ICC Men's ODI World Cup match between India and Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, October 14.
Subject to visa, the team will now leave for Hyderabad from Lahore in the wee hours of September 27 and reach Hyderabad via Dubai in the night.
Pakistani presenter Zainab Abbas, part of the ICC digital team covering the ODI World Cup, on Monday left India after facing backlash on social media over her alleged anti-India posts in the past.
A slew of records were broken as Pakistan recorded a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka after chasing down a mammoth 345 in their ICC World Cup match in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
If one checks Kuldeep's stats, he has felt more empowered across formats whenever Rohit has been the captain.
During the Multan Test between Pakistan and England, which ended with an unlikely English win on Monday evening, banners inviting Virat Kohli to the country has gone viral on social media.
India played the tournament's best cricket for nearly six weeks but it was the familiar sight of Australia celebrating with the trophy as fireworks exploded overhead when the 13th edition of the World Cup came to a close on Sunday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has started clearing the dues of national team players, which were held up for the last few months because of issues relating to new central contracts.
Opener Abullah Shafique says Pakistan must make the best of good starts and finish off matches at the ongoing World Cup.
Pakistan showcased resilience with Rizwan contributing a powerful 88 runs
Fast bowling legend Wasim Akram said he has never considered coaching the Pakistan cricket team because of the criticism, abuse and hate that are directed at coaches and captains in the country.
The two teams last played each other in the 2019 World Cup.
Babar Azam scored an impressive hundred while Shoaib Malik smashed a quickfire half century to help Pakistan thump Sri Lanka by 83 runs in the first one-day international in Dubai on Friday.
In the all-rounders' list, Ravindra Jadeja is placed 10th, while the top spot continues to be held by Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan.
Mickey Arthur, Pakistan's former Team Director, admitted that the ODI World Cup match against India at Ahmedabad was one of the toughest moments during his stint.
Daryl Mitchell's 129 and a 98 from skipper Tom Latham helped the Black Caps to an imposing 336-5 but Fakhar's fluent 180 from 144 balls and half centuries from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan got Pakistan across the line with 10 balls to spare.
I''ve been watching Saud Shakeel in the last couple of games: Kuldeep Yadav
Fakhar Zaman's ninth hundred in One Day Internationals trumped Daryl Mitchell's breezy century as Pakistan clinched a five-wicket victory over New Zealand.
When the discussion veered towards Kohli, Babar was effusive in his praise.
His remark came during a visit to Ayodhya in adjoining Faizabad district where he sought blessings of Ram Lalla at the makeshift temple.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Test played between Australia and Pakistan at SCG on Friday.
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