“Rohit, Kohli, Warner are there but Babar is different level”: Gambhir says Pakistan captain will set World Cup on fire.

Delhi: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said Pakistan captain Babar Azam has all the qualities to set the ICC World Cup 2023 on fire. Babar is currently the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world and is the only batter to feature in the top 10 of all three formats. He is ranked 3 in T20Is behind India’s Suryakumar Yadav and teammate Mohammad Rizwan while he attains the fourth spot in the Test rankings led by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.

Babar came into international cricket much later compared to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith but the Pakistan captain has made rapid strides to rise to their levels. In fact, many would argue that he has overtaken everyone and is now the current best batter across formats. Gambhir is certainly a believer of that thought.

Gambhir named Kohli, Rohit, Warner, Root and Williamson to state that Babar’s quality belongs to a different level. “Babar Azam has every quality to set this World Cup on fire. I have seen very few players who have so much time. Yes, there are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Kane Williamson and Joe Root but Babar Azam has a quality of a different level,” the former India opener, who played a crucial role in India’s last World Cup triumph in 2011, said.

Pakistan play two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia before starting off their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6. The tournament begins with last year’s finalists England and New Zealand squaring off against each other a day earlier in Ahmedabad.