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Former Pakistani batter and PCB chairman Ramiz Raja made a random comment on Babar Azam during commentary in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), which has since gone viral.
Babar became only the second batter after Chris Gayle to record 10 T20 centuries, when he struck 104 runs off 59 deliveries in Colombo Strikers' win over the Galle Titans on Monday.
At the start of the run chase, when the opening batter was marking his guard, Raja surprisingly mentioned that he 'absolutely loves the player and wishes to marry him'.
"Fifty in security, class, and quality, calmness. He is your guy in such a situation, in the back deep in the innings. I just absolutely love him - wanna marry him," he said.
Ramiz Raja and Babar Azam worked closely during the former's stint as the PCB chairman. The former cricketer has returned to commentary after he was sacked from his post following England's 3-0 whitewash over Pakistan on home soil.
Since then, the PCB has been led by an interim committee headed by Najam Sethi with major changes to the constitution. Zaka Ashraf is touted to take over as the next chairman of the organization.
"This is a very good league; cricket has been very competitive" - Babar Azam on the 2023 LPL
Babar Azam had a relatively bleak set of outings in the Test series against Sri Lanka, but Pakistan coasted to a 2-0 win to claim the top spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. He scored only seven runs in his first LPL 2023 game but has since stepped up with scores of 41, 59, and the most recent hundred.
Branding LPL as a competitive league, the ace batter said during the post-match presentation after the win over Galle:
"This is a very good league; cricket has been very competitive. There is a very good mix of talented young and senior players. After the Lanka Premier League, we have a bilateral series against Afghanistan, followed by the Asia Cup and the World Cup. I am taking it series by series, and every game is an opportunity to prepare. For now, my full focus is on the league."
Pakistan are touted as one of the favorites for the upcoming Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup. The Men in Green, led by Babar Azam, have a relatively balanced unit with the return of Shaheen Afridi proving to be a huge boost.
