Ex-Pakistan cricketer snatches Babar Azam's "King" tag; admits Virat Kohli is the "true king"

Pakistan's defeat to India in their Champions Trophy 2025 encounter has not gone down well for their fans and the country's cricket experts. The loss has prompted the former cricketer Mohammad Hafeez to give a shocking statement on Babar Azam's comparison with Virat Kohli.

Hafeez slammed Babar Azam for another disappointing performance with the bat against India. In a scathing remark, he called Virat Kohli the "true king" and called Babar's fans to get out of their PR machinery.

Hafeez was not impressed with Babar's performance and claimed that the star batter hasn't won any game against India so far in his career. He believes that Babar needs to perform on the big stage to become a successful cricketer.

Also read: Mohammad Rizwan surprised by Virat Kohli after Aaqib Javed claimed Pakistan will surprise India

Mohammad Hafeez snatches Babar Azam's "King" tag; admits Virat Kohli is the "true king"

While speaking during a local Pakistani show 'Game on Hai', Mohammad Hafeez launched into Babar Azam and hailed Virat Kohli as the true king of modern times. Hafeez feels that Babar needs to perform on the big stage to show his worth.

“Babar Azam is not the true king. It is Virat Kohli. Look at his performances. He has dominated all over the world. Get out of your PR machinery. We need a performer. Babar Azam is a good product. You tell me his one player of the match performance against India," Hafeez noted.

Virat Kohli scored a magnificent hundred in the match to take India home comfortably in the end. Kohli showed his chase mastery once again as he brought his old self into the game. It was a typical innings from him with a lot of running and low-risk shots.

On the other hand, Babar Azam was dismissed for just 23 off 26 balls. Babar looked good at the time when he was at the crease. He struck 5 fours during his knock. However, the star Pakistan cricketer was dismissed by Hardik Pandya to a ball that seamed away a touch after pitching.

Mohammad Hafeez calls out Babar Azam for not performing against big teams

While speaking further in the show, Mohammad Hafeez claimed that Babar Azam hasn't played a single significant innings against India to date to call himself a great batter. He gave the examples of a few Pakistan cricketers who have performed well in big games in the past.

“Why do we always remember Shoaib Akhtar’s performances against India? Why Younis Khan is a big name when we talk about the India-Pakistan match. Shoaib Malik has big performances against India," Hafeez said.

“Tell me Babar Azam, the best Pakistani product that has come in the past 10 years. Tell me about his one good performance against India. “Babar Azam is not Inzamam-ul-Haq. Inzi bhai used to win matches for Pakistan in difficult conditions," he added.

“Babar Azam has not won a single match against India to date. He is playing for the past 10 years and has never become a player of the series in SENA countries. In Australia or England he has never led Pakistan to victory," the former Pakistan allrounder said.

India move closer to semi-finals

India registered a thumping win over Pakistan in Dubai. Pakistan batted first after winning the toss and scored 241. Saud Shakeel top-scored 62 off 76 balls while skipper Mohammad Rizwan scored 46 off 77 balls. Kuldeep Yadav was the best bowler for India with 3-40 in 9 overs.

In reply, India got off to a brisk start from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Rohit was dismissed from a brilliant yorker from Shaheen Afridi while Gill was bowled by the legspinner Abrar Ahmed.

However, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer stitched together a fine partnership of 114 runs for the third wicket to take India to the cusp of a win. Iyer scored 56 off 67 balls while Kohli remained unbeaten on 100 off 111 balls.