PSL franchise Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal has backed Babar Azam to make a strong comeback, saying the Pakistan batter has the mettle to surpass even Virat Kohli and enter the league of the game's greats like Viv Richards and Garry Sobers.
Babar has endured a tough few months. After a lean run in Pakistan’s underwhelming home T20 Champions Trophy campaign, he was dropped from the T20I side that recently toured New Zealand. Hoping to regain form in PSL 2025, Babar – leading Peshawar Zalmi – hasn’t had the brightest of starts, either as captain or batter. Zalmi are languishing at the bottom of the table after defeats to Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United, with Babar managing scores of just 0 and 1 in those matches.
Iqbal has backed the under-fire Babar, insisting he will surpass Virat Kohli upon his return to form and cement his place among legends like Sobers and Richards.
"I am telling you. Mark my words, when Babar Azam makes a comeback again, he will be a bigger player than any other player in the world, including Virat Kohli. He will be matched with names like Garry Sobers and Sir Viv Richards," Iqbal said on a podcast by ARY, a brand he owns, which also serves as the PSL's primary broadcaster in Pakistan.
3-31 vs QG ✅
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 17, 2025
3-26 vs KK ✅
Rishad Hossain has started the PSL, his first franchise league outside Bangladesh, in fine form.
He is a T20 star in the making, but needs to be better utilised in his own country, writes @ovshake42.
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"He has that class element. When someone has class…. Class is permanent, you can’t change that. Style is always permanent. He will come back…he will come back with a bang. We wanted him to bat at number three, but he was not ready to change his role. The management decided to have a complete overhaul of the squad. That's why we let Babar, Imad Wasim, and Mohammad Amir go," he added.
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Iqbal explains why Karachi Kings let Babar go in 2023
Babar was part of the Kings from 2017 to 2022 and played a pivotal role in their 2020 title-winning campaign. He later parted ways with the franchise ahead of the 2023 season and joined Zalmi. Iqbal revealed the reason behind Babar’s departure, stating that the former Pakistan captain’s unwillingness to adapt his batting position led to the end of their association.
"When we [Karachi Kings] made our line-up heavily reliant on our openers, we requested Babar Azam to bat at number three. But he was keen to play as an opener as he was established there and was not comfortable playing one-down. That's when the management decided to have a complete overhaul," Iqbal revealed.
