However, a 5-year-old UK fan has stolen the limelight by writing his hero Babar Azam an adorable letter, calling him the best T20 batsman in the world.
Babar Azam plays for Somerset in the English County season and there, in 2019, he was the leading run-scorer, making 578 runs at an average of 52.54 with the help of a ‘sublime 102 not out at the Ageas Bowl’.
He may have made hundreds of thousands of fans with his spectacular performances over the years but one of the very special ones is 5-year-old Oscar who he had visited after the kid had had an operation.
In his letter, Oscar writes: “Babar Azam is my favourite cricket player. He was born in Pakistan. I met him after my operation on my feet. He was kind to me. He’s the best Twenty20 batsman…”
Babar expressed humility and gratitude in his response to the letter. “Hey Oscar, thank you so much for such a kind note. I am so proud of you buddy. You are a rockstar. Study hard & play even harder champ! Look forward to meet you”, the flamboyant Pakistani batsman wrote on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/babarazam258/status/1245817088943554560
The letter was initially tweeted from Somerset Cricket’s official Twitter account but became viral within minutes and even ICC tweeted the letter and Babar’s response from its own Twitter account. “What a class act”, wrote the International Cricket Council.
https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1245991940132388864
Babar Azam is currently the world No 1 T20 batsman according to ICC rankings.