Babar Azam flays Zainab Abbas for calling him 'Mickey Arthur’s son'

DUBAI: Babar Azam, who  finally scored career first Test hundred in commanding display against New Zealand on Sunday, has responded angrily to a cricket analyst Zainab Abbas for referring him as son-like to Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur.

Soon after Azam smashed  maiden Test ton,  the cricketers, analysts  and his   fans took to Twitter to commend him for magnificent performance. 

The young cricketer  slammed one of his admirer and cricket presenter Zainab Abbas who congratulated Azam after his  first century in Test cricket. She tweeted, “Well played Babar Azam – loved how the boys went congratulating Mickey Arthur celebrating his “son’s” century.”

In reply, Azam appeared to be unhappy with the comment and slammed Abbas for “crossing her limits”.

 Having made 99 in last month's series against Australia, Babar Azam finally achieved the  significance to make save exit   from nervous 90s. This was his 17th Test match, but he has finally made it to three figures in the format. Azam finished on 127 not out against New Zealand in the second Test in Dubai.

Babar said that   it was not a burden on him that he had  not  scored a Test century, but getting to the landmark was a relief.

"There was no pressure.” Babar said. "I'd be lying if I say that not scoring a Test century was a burden on me. The difference is that I did the job today. My previous best scores will be counted as half-centuries. I had heard that scoring a Test century is special and that's exactly what I experienced today. I was out on 99 against Australia. It's definitely a relief to get over the line. I have gained a lot of confidence in the wake of scoring this hundred.”

A career-best hundred from Haris Sohail and a maiden century from Babar Azam powered Pakistan to post a huge total to boost their chances of a series-levelling win against Kiwis in the second Test in Dubai on Sunday.