10 Players Who Rated Babar Azam As The Best Batsman Above Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are definitely two great batsmen in international cricket. While Virat Kohli has reached a destination where he can be termed as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Babar Azam has also proved he can be the next big thing in international cricket.

Ever since Babar Azam reached the no.1 T20I spot last year, comparisons between both batting stars became a widely talked-about debate. Over the past few years, there are many players who have spoken on Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam debate. Here we talk about 10 players who rated Babar Azam as the best batsman above Virat Kohli.

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10 Players Who Rated Babar Azam As The Best Batsman Above Virat Kohli

10. David Miller

During a recent conversation with ESPNcricinfo, David Miller was asked to choose between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam’s cover drive. To this, Miller replied picked Babar Azam’s cover drive. Hence, although Miller did not call Babar Azam a better player than Virat Kohli, he did agree that Azam has an upper hand when it comes to cover drives.

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9. Shoaib Akhtar

In recent times, Shoaib Akhtar has been very critical of Babar Azam and also pointed fingers at his captainship. However, not long ago, he was in full praise for the Pakistan skipper. Last year in September, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan chased down a 200-plus total in a T20I game against England.

Post the match, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar indirectly said that Babar Azam is a better chase master than Virat Kohli.

“I think hats off to the chase. The chasing template, at one point, was Virat Kohli’s great characteristic. Babar has replicated it and shown it. Babar’s class is far better than anyone else in this world,” Akhtar had said.

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8. Aaqib Javed

Ahead of Asia Cup 2022 last year, Virat Kohli was struggling through poor form. Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed had made a bold claim ahead of the tournament, comparing Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. Javed said that Virat Kohli is not technically sound batter like Babar Azam and hence, his rough patch continues for a long time.

“There are two types of great players. One is players who, if they get stuck, their rough patch continues for a long time. The others are technically-sound players, whose rough patch cannot continue that long, like Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Joe Root. It is difficult to find their weakness. Kohli gets stuck at times with those deliveries outside off stump”, Javed said while speaking to a Pakistan news channel.

7. Ian Bishop

Last year, Babar Azam came up with outstanding performances in ODIs during the West Indies tour. Reacting to the same, former West Indies player Ian Bishop said that Azam has taken over Virat Kohli in terms of the ultimate 50-over batsman in cricket.

“Babar Azam is on the road to greatness. I want to be clear when I say ‘on the road to…’, in the white-ball cricket at least, and certainly in fifty overs. I don’t use the term ‘great’ loosely. It has to be a bigger sample size to bestow greatness on a player, but his average, as we speak now, (is) on the cusp on 60 with 17 ODI hundreds. He has almost overtaken his next door neighbour, the great Virat Kohli, in terms of the ultimate uber fifty-over batsman,” Bishop had said during a conversation with cricwick.com.

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6. Matthew Hayden

In November 2021, the then-Pakistan batting consultant Matthew Hayden said that Babar Azam is better than Virat Kohli in the aspect that he is not overly flamboyant like Kohli.

When a Pakistan journalist asked him who is a better player between Virat Kohli and Babar, Hayden said,

“I think I see Babar has a lot of control. He is very consistent. He is very stable. He is not overly flamboyant. They are opposites the way I look at it. Babar is pretty calm most of the time and goes about his captaincy and batting meticulously while Kohli is very animated, very passionate, and very boisterous on the field”.

5. Saqlain Mushtaq

Last year in September 2021, Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq was asked by a journalist who he considers a better player between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. To this, Mushtaq replied that he would like to say, Babar Azam. However, he also mentioned that Virat Kohli is close to his heart.

4. Nasser Hussain

Last year in August, former England skipper Nasser Hussain was asked who is a better player for cover drives among the top four batters Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root. To this, Hussain replied that it was Babar Azam. Hussain said that Azam has a convenient way of playing it which is better than others.

“Sorry Indian fans I’m gonna be biased and go with Babar Azam. I nearly went with Kohli. He has the fast flick of the wrist but Babar has the conventional way of playing it”., Hussain had said.

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3. Mohammad Asif

In October 2021, Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif said that Babar Azam is more like Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli is not better than Sachin. He also said that he doesn’t think Kohli can make a comeback, as the former Indian skipper was facing a slump in his batting form since the start of 2020.

“Kohli is a bottom-hand player. He is doing well because of his fitness and it is supporting him. The moment he will face a decline, I don’t think Kohli can make a comeback. In fact, Babar is an upper-hand player like Sachin. His bat movement is fluent like Sachin. People say Kohli is better than Tendulkar. I say no. Virat does not even come close to Sachin. This is my opinion”, Asif had said.

2. Inzamam Ul Haq

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq is another player who said that Babar Azam is a better batsman than Virat Kohli. When Babar Azam replaced Kohli as the no.1 T20I batter last year, Haq said that Azam is way ahead of Kohli if compare to his current career.

“Virat Kohli is a legend and there’s no doubt about that. If someone has played 240 plus matches and someone 80, then you can’t compare them. If you compare their careers right now, then Babar is way ahead, but as my best friend and captain of Pakistan, I want him to break plenty of Kohli’s records,” Inzamam had said.

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1. Mohammad Yousuf

Back in November 2020 when Babar Azam broke many international records, former Pakistan player Mohammad Yousuf said that Azam is a better cricketer than Virat Kohli. However, he noted that if we only consider the starting 3-4 years of both players in international cricket

“Kohli has played much more cricket than Babar who has only about three to four years of exposure in international cricket. But yes, if you ask me to make a comparison based on where Kohli stood after the same number of matches that Babar has played, I would say Babar has done better,” Yousuf had said.

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