Karachi Kings Owner Believes Babar Azam Will Rise Again
Salman Iqbal, the owner of Karachi Kings, has expressed strong confidence in Babar Azam’s potential to surpass Virat Kohli in stature when he finds his form again. Despite facing a challenging period in both international and domestic cricket, Babar is currently playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025. So far, he has struggled with his performance, managing to score only one run in two matches, resulting in an average of 0.50.
Babar has faced dismissals by fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Ben Dwarshuis, raising concerns about his current form. Iqbal believes that once Babar makes his comeback, discussions will place him alongside legendary players like Viv Richards and Gary Sobers.
"When Babar Azam returns to peak performance, I believe he will be a greater player than any other in the world, including Virat Kohli. He will be mentioned in the same breath as icons like Gary Sobers and Sir Viv Richards,” Iqbal shared during an interview on the ARY Podcast.
Babar Azam’s Current Struggles
Babar’s recent struggles have been evident, as he has not scored a century since his impressive 151-run innings against Nepal during the Asia Cup 2023 at Multan Cricket Stadium. Following Pakistan’s disappointing exit from the ODI World Cup, where they did not make it to the semi-finals, Babar stepped down from the captaincy in all formats.
He later returned as captain for the limited-overs teams before the T20 World Cup held in the West Indies and USA. However, after Pakistan’s early exit from the tournament, he decided to step down again due to questions raised about his batting performance.
In a recent twist, Babar was not selected for Pakistan’s T20I squad for their upcoming five-match series against New Zealand. This exclusion sparked comments from former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, who stated that Babar currently does not deserve a spot on the team.
Under Babar’s captaincy, Peshawar Zalmi has struggled, losing both of their matches this season and currently sitting at the bottom of the table with a disappointing net run rate of -4.550. The team is scheduled to face Mohammad Rizwan’s Multan Sultans on Saturday, April 19, at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, in hopes of turning their fortunes around.
