Watch: Babar Azam's Glorifies Virat Kohli As He Downplays Comparisons With India Skipper
Every batsman who has started well in international cricket in the last few years has drawn comparison with Virat Kohli who has set the benchmark for batting. One batsman who has been drawing comparisons with Kohli on a consistent basis is Pakistan star Babar Azam. The right-handed batsman has become one of Pakistan’s most important batsmen in the last couple of years and his impressive displays have made his compatriots compare with Kohli.
The India superstar has left his contemporaries pretty much behind with his stunning displays in international cricket. Irrespective of the format and the conditions, Kohli has scored all over the world with unbelievable consistency. Earlier this year, he became the first man to win all three ICC awards. Kohli was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and Cricketer of the Year. In 2018, Kohli was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and Cricketer of the Year. In doing so, he became only the third man to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year twice and the second to win it in consecutive years.
Kohli had a sensational 2018 scoring 11 international hundreds – 6 in ODIs and 5 in Tests. In 2018, Kohli scored 1202 runs in 14 ODIs. In 13 Tests, Kohli scored 1322 runs including 593 in the five-Test series against England. Besides, Virat Kohli was also named captain of the ICC’s Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
At just 30, Kohli has already scored over 10,000 runs in ODIs and is the second leading centurion in ODIs with 39 tons to his name. He has also scored over 6,000 Tests runs with the help of 25 tons.
Babar, on the other hand, has still a long way to go but the start has been promising. The 24-year old has also done well in pretty much every condition. Last year, he broke Kohli’s record to become the fastest to 1,000 runs in T20Is. He is also the joint-fastest to 1,000 ODI runs.
But while the rest of Pakistan cannot get tired of comparing Babar with Kohli, the batsman himself thinks it is still too early for that. The Pakistan star, while recently interacting with the media, turned down the comparisons and said that he still has a long way to go.
” Every time, whenever you hear, people compare me with Virat Kohli. I think he is a very big player, I am not even close to him. I have just started while he has achieved a lot. I have to achieve and if I perform like that you can compare but not now,” Babar Azam said.
