WATCH: Misbah-ul-Haq Picks Pak Player Close To Same Class As Virat Kohli, Steve Smith

Pakistan Cricket team's star batsman Babar Azam was recently appointed as the ODI captain of his national squad.

Lahore: Pakistan cricket team's head coach Misbah-ul-Haq feels newly-appointed ODI captain Babar Azam is very much close to the same league as Aussie sensational batsman Steven Smith and Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli.

Recently, Babar Azam was appointed as the ODI captain of his national squad. Coach Misbah, who is also a selector in the PCB had said that the decision to replace veteran wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed with Babar was made, keeping in mind the 2023 World Cup.

"I don't like comparisons but Babar is currently very close to being in the same class as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Joe Root," Misbah said on Youtube channel Cricket Baaz.

"He believes in the work ethic that if you want to better Kohli you have to work harder than him at your skills, fitness and game awareness."

"Babar is in a zone of his own. He just doesn't want to be on the team. He just doesn't want to play for money. He wants to be the top performer for Pakistan. He is always pitting himself against other top batsmen like Kohli or Smith," he said.

"Making him the T20 captain was a tester. We wanted to see how he will respond to this challenge. All of us agree that he has done a very good job and his biggest plus is that being among the worlds top players he leads by example," the former skipper said.

"If you are a performer like Babar then it becomes easier for you to motivate the rest of the team and get things done. Even when I was made captain in 2010 my performances were here and there and I was in and out. But captaincy changed my game and mindset and I became a more hard-working and motivated cricketer."