Asia Cup 2022: Scott Styris explains what bowlers need to do to dismiss Babar Azam

New Delhi, Aug 23: Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris has lavished praise upon Pakistan captain and batting mainstay Babar Azam for his imperious batting form in the white-ball format ahead of the Asia Cup 2022 and said it will be difficult for bowlers to get his wicket.

Styris further claimed that in the upcoming multi-nation tournament - which will be held in the T20 format - it will be difficult to get the wicket of the Pakistan dasher given the form he is in. The former all-rounder from New Zealand advised the bowlers to bowl bravely in order to earn the prized wicket of the number-ranked ODI batter in the world.

Speaking exclusively on SPORTS18's daily sports news show 'Sports Over The Top', Styris also analysed how to attack the right-handed batter and said, "I'm not so sure. I think what you would say is if India could win, any team could say I'll give you 16 Babar Azams, and then you're out. They would take it every day of the week. He is that good. He is the number one man going around. Look there's usually what you look to do is to give him a single and get him off strike and bowl the guy at the other end. And I think that's not something new. That's been around for a decade or two, or three decades. So that sort of strategy to Babar Azam, I think he's used to it, and I'm not sure that will work.

"I think you've almost got to be brave. Be a little bit risky and try that magic delivery that you might be a little afraid to bowl because if you get it wrong, it can go out of the park because it's going to take a special delivery to get somebody like him out in the form that he's in. He's that good player at the moment and that's perhaps the strategy. As it is, I think I'd probably need a few more hours of studying film to work out any genuine weaknesses that he has, but as it is just you've got to be aggressive and go after it."

The right-handed batter from Pakistan has racked up 588 runs at 84.00 in the ODIs in 2022. In the eight ODIs he's played in 2022, Azam has slammed three centuries and four fifties.

Pakistan, meanwhile, suffered a massive jolt ahead of the tournament as their star seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out due to injury. The left-arm quick would have been a real threat to every team's top-order and him missing the tournament comes as a major relief to the opposition teams. Styris reckons the absence of Shaheen Afridi gives India an opportunity to lift the trophy once again.

Styris said on the Sports18 show, "Every top order should be high-fiving themselves because he has every possible attribute that you could want in a fast bowler. He has height, he has the pace, he gets the bounce, he has that ability to swing the ball, and he has the variation of being a left-armer as well. So, everything you would want from a fast bowler, he has it. So, I'm with you. I think that every top order in this competition, not just the Indian top order who are susceptible to the ball coming back, I think that they will be delighted that he isn't there and it gives them a greater chance of winning the tournament."