Australian coach showers praise on Babar Azam amid criticism

Australia's leading power-hitting coach Shannon Young showered praise on Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, calling him a world class player. 

The 29-year-old batsman has been facing severe criticism from fans and former cricketers for his below-par performance in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2024. 

"He is well, he is a world class player," said Young, who is currently visiting Pakistan. 

The coach said that Australians are very rarely critical of their world class players.

"We back them in and we say they've been world class players, they're gonna be world class players again. I think sometimes the passion tips over that these guys carry so much expectation through Pakistan's one of the best players in the world, he's gonna be fine," Young added.

Showering praise on Babar, the coach said he is a very nice guy and is doing great work with the academy and giving young boys and girls the opportunity which is admirable and fantastic.

Young also spoke about his visit to Pakistan, saying that his plan is to bring high performance Australian cricketers and the younger cricketers for tours next year.

"We're hoping that maybe April. Previously, and I've always wanted to come to Pakistan, so I got the opportunity and I knew really early on that Australians would love Pakistan. So we're gonna bring hopefully a couple of tours to play cricket here," he expressed.