"I Will Try To Become A Player Like Him": Babar Azam On Virat Kohli

Babar Azam, Pakistan white-ball captain and the No.1 T20I batsman in the world, has impinged himself as one of the potential greats of the game. And, he has achieved that through sheer hard work, relentless execution of his skills, and consistency.

Babar is averaging over 50 in One-day International cricket in the past three years and his consistency, as well as his sumptuous strokeplay, has led to his comparison with superstar Virat Kohli.

Babar has always maintained that he himself tries to learn a lot by observing Virat Kohli. The Pakistan white-ball captain recently engaged in a chat session with Harsha Bhogle where he opened up about his comparisons with the Indian captain and how he wants to emulate some of Kohli’s feats for Pakistan.

“He is one of the best players. I am far behind. I have a lot to achieve yet. I will try to become a player like him and win matches for Pakistan and create records,” Babar Azam told Cricbuzz.

Also Read: PCB Hands Over Asia Cup 2020 Hosting Rights To Sri Lanka

Babar Azam recalls his first meeting with Shoaib Akhtar

During the conversation, Babar Azam also revealed advice given to him by one of his coaches.

“My coach used to tell me, if you are an opener, you should play the first ball and you should play the last ball. He said you will go all types of phases if you bat till last. You will score for yourself as well and contribute to the team’s total as well. I slowly understood what he meant,” Azam said.

The Pakistan star batsman also went on to recall his first meeting with former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

“When I saw Shoaib Akhtar bowl for the first time, I realized how quick he was. There used to be U-19 camps where they used to let us bat as well. Shoaib Bhai also used to come there occasionally. He used to bowl towards the end. Once he called me and told me that I had to block the deliveries and not drive. I blocked two balls and then hit a drive. Whenever he used to come there, he used to call me and bowl at me. While he used to bowl length deliveries to me, he once bowled a bouncer by mistake.” Babaz Azam recalled.

Also Read: India To Tour Sri Lanka In August For Limited-Overs Series: Report