Irfan Pathan buries Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli debate forever with brutal verdict

Babar Azam has continued his disgusting form in the shortest format of the game, and after his recent failure against India in the ICC T20 World Cup, Irfan Pathan asked him to be snubbed of the 'legend' status, which places him in the same league with players like Virat Kohli.

Babar Azam was given the legendary status in the shortest format of the game for having scored the most runs in T20Is. Azam is currently the highest-ever run-getter in the format internationally and the greatest ever from Pakistan. However, his current lack of form has hurt him as well as his team.

Pakistan faced a massive defeat against India as they were crushed by 61 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Although Pakistan remains alive in the T20 World Cup, they have been slammed for being non-competitive throughout the game.

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Irfan Pathan demands to stop the comparison between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli

Questions would surely be asked to Pakistan players and the coaching staff as well, but Babar Azam has been attacked by many due to his status in international cricket. He failed to connect a big hit against Axar Patel, as his stumps were rattled after a torrid time on the pitch.

Babar has not managed to score higher than 14 in the last 5 matches against India in T20Is. He has hence been asked to be removed from the same conversation and elite list, which includes greats like Virat Kohli.

“Please, stop comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli is in a different league. Look at his innings against Pakistan in the 2022 World Cup — has Babar ever played such a knock under pressure?” asked Irfan Pathan, while speaking on his YouTube channel.

Irfan Pathan discredits Babar Azam for high-pressure games

Babar Azam has a terrible record against India in T20s, and the last time he played a fine hand against India was back in Dubai in 2021. Babar then scored an unbeaten 68*, as Pakistan registered a 10-wicket victory against India in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

However, Irfan Pathan feels Babar Azam is not a player who stands up for his team in tough times, much like renowned players like Virat Kohli used to do. Even in this game, Babar walked out when Pakistan were under pressure, having lost two early wickets.

“Apart from 2021, when dew played a big role, how many times has Babar absorbed pressure and finished games like that? With three wickets down, he should have batted till the 15th over, focused on singles and doubles, and played a long innings,” said Pathan.

"Even a strike rate of 120 would have been acceptable," opined Irfan Pathan

Babar Azam was dismissed when Pakistan struggled to score runs and was choked for runs by the Indian bowlers. They were chasing a massive 176 runs on a slow track, and with the fall of early wickets, Irfan Pathan felt that more than scoring at a faster rate, what mattered more for Pakistan then was rotating the strike freely.

“Even a strike rate of 120 would have been acceptable given the scoreboard pressure. Instead, he went for a big shot and got out. He doesn’t consistently have the ability to clear boundaries at will, nor to rotate strike freely in the middle overs against quality spin when the ball grips,” pointed out Pathan as a manner of criticism.

Pakistan were then bowled out for 114 and could not play their quota of 20 overs. "Because of that approach, Pakistan couldn’t even bat the full 20 overs. This was a shameful defeat — no doubt about it," Pathan summed up.

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