'Babar Azam has been phenomenal in all three formats' - Dinesh Karthik

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Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has heaped tremendous praise on current Pakistan skipper and opener Babar Azam, backing him to bag the number one spot across formats. He also feels that the changes made to his technique have helped Azam improve his game magically, especially considering the timing of his bat with the ball, which is nearly perfect. The Pakistani is currently the number one batter in both formats of the limited-overs cricket, i.e. the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). At the same time, Karthik is confident that the skipper will become the first-ever to scale the summit of the ICC Rankings across formats.

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Speaking on The ICC Review, Karthik expressed, "100% [Azam can be the number one-ranked batter in all three formats]. He is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess, and he has got some Test matches coming up. He has been phenomenal in all three formats of the game, and he has done well in different batting positions. I think he has the potential. He has got all the following of Pakistan helping him in abundance to go on and do special things for his country."

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"The two things that struck me when I watched him bat are his balance and striking point when he plays a ball. Whether it is on the front foot or back foot, his ability to strike the ball more often than not under his eyes has been phenomenal. He strikes the ball at the point where it is optimum power for where the ball is pitched, making him an extraordinary player," added Karthik.

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Speaking on the 'Fab Four' involving Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, Karthik imagined, "It is a powerful 'Fab Four' that we are talking about, and they have been there for much longer. But, there is no doubt that Babar has all the credentials, and he will make it a 'Fab Five'. There is no doubt he is there or thereabout. He is an exceptional player."

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"When you play international cricket, you have to keep changing a little bit here and there to improve your technique. Sometimes just by one per cent [improvement], you can go on and achieve success in that particular tour you are on, so I think he has tweaked his technique a bit here and there over a while," concluded Karthik.