Even after almost a decade since Sachin Tendulkar bid adieu to the game of cricket, the aura and charm he carries among cricketing fandom haven’t faded a bit. In fact, the intensity of his glittering career shines brighter with each passing day as if to defy conventional wisdom.
The ‘Master Blaster’ is a standard yardstick to gauge the ability of any new batsmen who is taking the cricketing world by storm, as Sachin did in the entirety of his two-decades-long career. And as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root have been doing for quite some time.
All of the aforementioned names, because of their world-class batting skills, draw a comparison to Sachin Tendulkar. However, the name of Virat Kohli pops up more often than his contemporaries of ‘Fab Four’ in this regard.
The latest entrant in this club of elite players is Babar Azam. Coming from a country flooded with generational fast-bowling talents, it must have taken some extraordinary performances to steal the limelight. Babar has done precisely the same for Pakistan over the years.
Former West Indies cricketer has remarked that Kohli and Azam are the closest batsmen who remind him of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
“Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, who in terms of the straight lines, you remember Sachin Tendulkar, there’s a reason why I think he was the best batsman I bowled to as he always played in the straight lines and these two guys (Kohli, Azam) present that,” Bishop told Mbangwa during the interaction.
Kohli is the only batsman to boast an average of 50+ in all formats of the game. He is the number one ranked batsman in ODI cricket and occupies second place in the Test rankings.
On the other hand, Babar Azam leads the T20I ranking and maintains a 50+ average in both ODIs and T20Is.
Bishop also heaped praises on the present generation of fast-bowlers.
“Jasprit Bumrah is a generational talent, the ability to adapt to all the formats is brilliant. Kagiso Rabada is someone I find impressive, the first time I saw him was in a T20 match and he was bowling to Keiron Pollard. I am seeing a fast bowling renaissance right now and it excites me,” Bishop concluded.
