Imad Wasim shockingly picks Babar Azam as a better player than Virat Kohli
Published - 01 Feb 2024, 04:45 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:26 AM
Former Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim made a shocking choice when asked to pick a better all-format batter between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. He backed the Pakistan star, saying that he’s the pride of the nation and is an amazing player.
Over the years there have been lots of debate around who is the best between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. Both batters are rated very highly in the world of cricket and have achieved tremendous things in their career and are still going strong.
Virat Kohli since the last one decade has been carrying the Indian batting lineup in all three formats and is arguably the best our generation has ever seen. He recently broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most ODI centuries as he completed 50 tons in the format and etched his name in record books.
Virat Kohli has been contributing equally for the Indian Cricket Team in all three formats of the game. He had a lean patch in between but with the way he has made a comeback is nothing short of exceptional. The batter is back to the scoring ways and is piling up runs consistently.
Babar Azam on the other hand has developed himself into one of the finest batters from Pakistan. His consistency has been one of the highlights of his career. It’s fair to say that his team is dependent a lot on him in all three formats.
With all the debate between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli, Imad Wasim was asked to pick one between the duo. He backed the Pakistan batter, saying that the right-hander has served the team with dignity and pride. Speaking to local news, he explained:
“I would go Babar Azam. He’s our nation’s pride. We can criticise him, we can say things about him in the right way that he becomes an amazing player. But, he has served Pakistan with dignity & pride for a long time. He’s our pride “
Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan are already set – Imad Wasim on Pakistan changing the opening duo in T20Is
In the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, Pakistan saw the new opening combination of Saim Ayub and Mohammad Rizwan. Babar Azam was demoted down the order despite the good record at the top.
Imad Wasim believes that the new opening pair needs to be given time and they should be backed because Pakistan has 12 T20Is before World Cup. He said that if the duo fails to get going then Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan should open in the World Cup. He added:
“Look, they’re still new. You can’t judge them based on three, two, three, four games. If you want to change the opening stand, give them a fair run. The thing is, we’re in a different situation because I think we have 12 T20s leading into the World Cup. They need to do it quickly. I believe they should have given, because Babar and Rizwan are already set. You can take them straight away into the World Cup opening if other fails.”
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have had a huge success as a pair in T20Is. They mustered 2452 runs in their opening partnership at an impressive average of 50.04.