Babar Azam showered with wishes on 30th birthday

Pakistan former captain and star batter Babar Azam has turned 30 and fellow cricketers are showering him with wishes and praise for his indomitable resolve as a sportsman.

The athlete celebrates his 30th birthday, as he rests during second and third match of the ongoing Test series between the Green Shirts and Three Lions.

It is the first time the batting maestro has been dropped from the Pakistan team since his white-ball debut against Zimbabwe in Lahore in 2015 and Test baptism against the West Indies a year later.

Babar shot to prominence with three successive hundreds in an ODI series against the West Indies in 2016.

He replaced India great Virat Kohli as world number one ODI batsman five years later, a place he still occupies having been briefly deposed in between.

The ex-skipper was on top of the world two years ago, leading the team and being a top-rated batsman in all three formats.

He is still ranked fourth among T20 batsmen but it is the long format where his form has suffered the most and his slump has seen him fall outside the world's top 10.

To mark this special day in Babar's life, fellow cricketers did not miss out on the opportunity to wish him the best and remind him about his prowess on the field.

Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Aamir Jamal and Salman Ali Agha are some of the players who shared their love for the ex-skipper on social media.

Taking to Instagram, Shadab shared a photograph of himself with Babar, in which both are holding their respective green jerseys.

"Happy birthday @babarazam. May u have a great year on & off the field. Everyone knows ur batting class," the all-rounder wrote in the caption.

Shaheen, who has also been "rested" during the Test series against England, also took to Instagram Story to convey his wishes for the batter.

He wrote: "Wishing you a great year ahead."

Fellow cricketer Haris Rauf, who was last seen leading The Stallions in the domestic Champions One-Day Cup, wrote "Tusi great hoo" when wishing the former captain on Instagram Story.

"Happy birthday brother," he added.

All-rounder Salman Ali Agha also shared his love for the batter via Instagram, wishing him a "wonderful year ahead".

While Aamir Jamal wished for Babar to continue "shine and shine more than ever".