Babar Azam reveals why Pat Cummins is his toughest opponent

Babar emphasized how Cummins consistently improves and never offers loose deliveries

Pakistan's white-ball skipper, Babar Azam, recently shed light on why he considers Australia's Pat Cummins as one of the most challenging bowlers to face in cricket. 

Speaking on a local news channel with Ramiz Raja, Babar was asked to rank some of the top bowlers according to difficulty.

“You have to rate these bowlers according to the difficulty. Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Starc, Mark Wood and Pat Cummins,” Raja asked.

Babar rated Cummins as the toughest, followed by Jasprit Bumrah, Mark Wood, and Mitchell Starc. He elaborated on Cummins' skillfulness, emphasizing how Cummins consistently improves and never offers loose deliveries. Babar highlighted Cummins' ability to strategically trap batsmen, making every delivery a challenge for the opposition.

“The way he has, over the years, improved [himself], he will not give you a loose ball. He knows how I can take the wicket of a certain batter by bowling at a certain position. He traps you. He gives you a tough time. He challenges your tempering and technique to the fullest,” Babar said.

He noted Cummins' mastery in varying his pace, often bowling between 130-135 kph before surprising with deliveries clocking at 145 kph. Azam also pointed out Cummins' precision in length, suggesting that any variation in length is deliberate and aimed at unsettling the batsman.

"If he does a loose bowl, then I think that he does that intentionally. That is why I rate him highly because he has the ability to take a wicket. He never bowls with a consistent pace, he would normally bowl at 130-135 [kph] and then suddenly bowl you out at 145. So he has that ability to vary his pace. One thing about him is that he will always bowl at hard length if he is bowling at full length, then it is intentional," he further added