Pakistan batting sensation Babar Azam is compared to Indian skipper Virat Kohli over and again. However, Babar himself doesn’t think that he is worthy enough to be compared to Kohli yet.
While talking at an event ahead of upcoming season of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Babar said that he is no way near Kohli.
“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,” he said.
Don't Compare Me With @imVkohli He Is Much Bigger Batsman Than Me & Got Several World Records ..Said @babarazam258 in @KarachiKingsARY Program pic.twitter.com/GyyID80rzB
— KHIZAR AZAM (@KHIZARAZAM) February 10, 2019
Virat Kohli has set the benchmark for batting with his unprecedented consistency across formats. No matter what the conditions are or what the format is, the Indian talisman has scored heavily in the last 4-5 years. Last month, Kohli bagged the top three honours at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards and became the first cricketer to do so.
Kohli was named the Cricketer of the Year and won the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for the second time in succession. He was named the best Test player of the year and also ODI player of the year after his extraordinary performances with the bat in 2018. Kohli finished last year as the highest scorer in Test cricket with 1322 runs in 13 matches at an average of 55.08 with five hundreds and as many half-centuries while also finishing on top of the ODI runs tally with 1202 runs in 14 matches at an average of 133.55 with six centuries.
Babar Azam, on the other hand, has been showing promise as well and looks set to create his own legacy. The 24-year-old, who made three consecutive ODI hundreds against Windies just months after making his debut, has become Pakistan’s batting mainstay.
Last year, Babar became the fastest in terms of innings to reach 1000 T20I runs and in the process surpassed Virat Kohli. Not long ago, he became the joint-fastest to complete 1000 ODI runs, sharing the record with two all-time greats, Sir Viv Richards and Kevin Pietersen. At just 24, he already has more ODI centuries at No. 3 than any Pakistan batsman ever.
