Tag: Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli

Former Indian captain Virat Kohli spoke highly of Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam, and termed him “the top batsman in the world”.

Virat Kohli shared his first encounter in Manchester with Babar Azam when Imad Wasim introduced Babar to Kohli.

“The first interaction I had with him [Babar] was during the 2019 [ODI] World Cup after the game in Manchester. I’ve known Imad [Wasim] since the Under-19 World Cup, and he said Babar wanted to have a chat,” Kohli said.

He further talked about the meeting and the friendship they shared since that first meeting.

“I saw a lot of regard and respect from him from day one, and that hasn’t changed,” he added.

Kohli then termed Babar as the top batter across the globe and claimed that he enjoys watching Babar play.

“He is so down to earth character, he will go a long way as a player. He is probably the top batsman right now across all formats. He performs so consistently and I’ve always enjoyed watching him play.”

Babar Azam is currently sitting at the top of the ODI batting ranking, the position which was once held by Virat Kohli. Both batters are celebrated across the globe as the best batters of this era.

However, despite the comparison and debates regarding who is better, the cricketers always displayed mutual respect for each other.

Last year, in July Babar came out in support of Virat with a motivating tweet, “This too shall pass. Stay strong” and received an overwhelming response from the cricket fans.

Virat, also responded to Babar’s supportive tweet for him in a challenging phase of his career, while also wishing latter the luck. “Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best,” Virat replied to Babar in his tweet.

They will come face to face in the Asia Cup, when Pakistan and India will collide at Kandy on September 2.

The Asia Cup is scheduled to treat the fans with as many as three India-Pakistan games if both teams reach the final.

The arch-rivals will also feature in the most anticipated clash of the ODI World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14.

South Africa batter David Miller has picked his favourite cover drive as he prefers Babar Azam over Indian star Virat Kohli, playing the shot. 

The two cricket superstars of the contemporary era, Babar and Kohli, enjoy a healthy rivalry not just in terms of batting records and performances, but also in the sophistication of their strokes.

They have led to intense debate among fans and experts, as to who is the better batter and more aesthetically pleasing while playing his shots.

A similar kind of question was posed to South African veteran Miller, who is playing for Gujrat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League, and he replied very confidently.

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, he was asked to choose between Babar and Kohli’s cover drive. “Probably, I would go with Babar,” he answered.

Earlier, former England captain Nasser Hussain had also made a similar claim and rated Babar’s cover drive ahead of Virat’s.

“I’m going to be biased. Sorry Indian fans but I’m gonna go with Babar Azam. I nearly went Kohli because I think Kohli is slightly different. Kohli has a bit more of a flick of the wrist of it. Babar Azam has just a lovely little [touch],” he had said.

“If I was teaching any young girl to watch, I’d ask her to watch Meg Lanning. I’m teaching any young boy to watch a cover drive. I would say watch Babar.” he added.

Pakistan all-format skipper Babar has taken the world cricket and claimed several records across formats since his debut in 2015.

Recently, the 28-year-old scripted history during the fourth ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi, becoming the fastest batter to complete 5,000 runs in One-Day cricket.

He shattered the world record, previously held by Hashim Amla, taking only 97 innings to reach the landmark, four less than Amla’s 101 innings.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistani fast-bowler and 1992 World Cup winner Aqib Javed claimed that the former Indian batter Virat Kohli has lost his peak and the top-ranked white-ball batter Babar Azam is now ahead of him.

Aqib, while responding to the rapid-fire questions in ARY News’ show Sports Room (Eid Special), claimed that India’s top batter Kohli, who has been struggling to find his form for the last two years, has lost his peak and the Pakistan captain Babar has surpassed him.

“Now I think Babar is ahead. He [Kohli] had his peak but now going down. But Babar, on the other hand, is going up,” Aqib said.

Aqib, on asked, also drew the comparison between the Indian and Pakistani pacers – Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi – and the wicket-keeper batters – Mohammad Rizwan and Rishabh Pant, claiming that both Pakistanis are also ahead of their Indian counterparts.

“I now think that Shaheen is better than Bumrah because when Shaheen came into the international circuit Bumrah had already established himself and the critics used to say that Bumrah is doing well in Tests, T20Is, and so but now Shaheen has proved he is even better and has more capacity than Bumrah,” he said.

“Rizwan is better than Pant these days. There is no doubt that Pant is an extremely skilful player but the way Rizwan takes the responsibility, Pant is well behind him. It is often said that Pant is an aggressive player, but the aggressiveness doesn’t mean to hit a couple of big shots and got out but to stay at the crease, fight, and finish the game,” Aqib added.

A piece of advice for young cricketers

The former pacer then responded to a question regarding Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, saying they should play club cricket only.

“Umar Akmal should now play club cricket only because his attitude is like that and the same goes for Ahmed Shehzad,” he said.

The 1992 world cup winner, again in response to a question advised the young explosive batter, Azam Khan, to work on his fitness or quit cricket.

“I think Azam Khan should either quit cricket or become like a cricketer. He should work on his fitness,” Aqib said.

Suspension of departmental cricket

Aqib also backed the resurrection of departmental cricket and the former domestic cricket structure, claiming that the six-team domestic format did not serve Pakistan cricket.

“There is nothing as the roots and club cricket are also suspended due to this new six-team domestic setup. I can design the structure they’ve created in less than half an hour “Aqib remarked.

Ramiz Raja as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board

In answer to a question from the host on whether his old teammate Ramiz Raja should quit as Chairman of the PCB? Aqib was quick to react, saying, “Yes,” before clarifying that his policies were the same as his predecessors.

“The reason behind sacking Wasim Khan and Ehsan Mani was that they were not performing up to the mark or their policies were inadequate but since Ramiz took over, neither a board official has been dismissed nor has he made any policy changes,” Aqib explained.

“It signifies that the same momentum is still in effect, with only the face changed and nothing new done,” he concluded.

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