PAK vs AUS: 'Beautiful hands, ultra-aggressive' - Cummins, Starc, Lyon, Hazlewood praise Babar Azam

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PAK vs AUS: Australia bowling unit of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood have heaped rich praises on former Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Pakistan and Australia are set to lock horns in a three-match Test series which will kick off in Perth from December 14.

Babar Azam, who toured Australia under the leadership of Azhar Ali's Test team in 2019, stepped down from Pakistan's captaincy across formats after the World Cup 2023. During the 2019 Test tour, Babar Azam had scored 104 runs in the second innings of the Brisbane Test, and 97 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test.

Australia captain Pat Cummins reckoned that getting the wicket of Babar Azam would be hard, while Josh Hazlewood had asserted that Babar Azam is someone who looks to put the pressure back on the opposition.

"So he's going to be hard work," Cummins said in Cricket Australia's video posted on Instagram.

"He has been for class player for a long time. Sort of burst on the scene in ODI cricket and then changed his game to be strong in the Test arena as well. If you miss, he hurts you and sort of tries to put that pressure back on you as a bowler," Hazlewood said. .

Australia's veteran spinner Nathan Lyon branded Babar Azam, the number fourth ranked Test batter in the world, as "extremely talented".

"He's got beautiful hands when he bats. He scored some runs. I think it was Gabba's last time he was up here. You always want to compete against the best players in the world and he's definitely one of them," Lyon said while praising Babar.

Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc believes that the 29-year-old right-hand batter, who scored 3772 runs in 49 Test matches at an average of 47.74, has a "great batting temperament".

"He's got all shots. He's someone who can build an innings or can be ultra-aggressive and take the game away and change the momentum. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet on this tour," the Aussie pacer asserted," Starc added.

Pakistan squad for Test series vs Australia: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.