Pakistan’s top-order batter Imam-ul-Haq named current white-ball captain and ace batter Babar Azam in his all-time Pakistan’s ODI XI.

Speaking at a private TV show, the left-handed opener shared his opinion on what should be Pakistan’s all-time ODI XI which features star all-rounder Shahid Afridi as the 12th man.

He named several legendary players in the lineup and picked Babar to open alongside Saeed Anwar.

“Since it was very difficult for me to set [him] in the middle order. So, I went for Babar Azam as the opener,” said Imam-ul-Haq.

“The way he has performed in ODI cricket for the last seven years so his performances for Pakistan are very good,” he added.

The middle-order of Imam-ul-Haq’s all-time Pakistan ODI XI features legendary batters Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf while he backed World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan to lead the team.

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Imam opted to go with Kamran Akmal as the specialist wicketkeeper batter, prioritizing the latter over the likes of Moin Khan, Rashid Latif and Sarfaraz Ahmed.

He backed his decision by emphasizing Akmal’s several match-winning performances in the format.

“I’ll go with Kamran Akmal as the wicketkeeper-batsman. It was a bit tricky for me. There were a lot of options like Moin bhai and Saifi bhai but I’ll go with Kamran Akmal because he has a lot of match-winning performances in ODIs,” Imam explained.

The bowling lineup of Imam-ul-Haq’s all-time Pakistan ODI XI included spin maestro Saqlain Mushtaq while Mohammad Asif was selected with the legendary duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Imam-ul-Haq’s all-time Pakistan ODI XI: Saeed Anwar, Babar Azam, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Khan (c), Kamran Akmal (wk), Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammad Asif, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.

READ: Shahid Afridi lambasts Babar Azam’s captaincy in T20 World Cup 2024