The comparison between players is not an alien thing in cricket. From time to time, many cricketers be it batsmen, bowlers, fielders or all-rounders, all have gone through various sort of assessments as the fans and experts have always drawn evaluations between two individuals.
Some of the most famous comparisons in the fascinating game have been between Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, as well as between Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. When it comes to modern-day cricket, the two players who are always on the radar are Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Although there is a vast difference between Kohli and Babar’s career graph, the pair has been compared several times. Some state Kohli as the modern-day great, while some reckon, Babar is the top of the line batsman.
The biggest reason why some fans like to talk about Babar in the same breath as Kohli is his supreme consistency across the formats. The regular match-winning performances have also awarded Babar with the captaincy of T20I and ODI teams as well.
Speaking about the Indian skipper, he completely dominates the present time as he is the only batsman to average 50 plus in all formats. Under his leadership, Team India has also reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
Throwing light on the red-hot topic, former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf heaped praises on both the batsmen; however, he gave an edge to Kohli. Yousuf, who was one of the finest batters of Pakistan during his career, lauded the Indian captain for his fitness and said that is the main reason behind his success.
“I’ve never seen him practice but have followed some of his training videos on Twitter or someplace else. In today’s era, if someone asks me what is modern cricket, I’d say it’s about training. Today’s players are fit and fast, as is Virat Kohli, which is the reason behind his terrific performances,” said Yousuf on YouTube Show ‘Cricast.’
Yousuf asserted that Kohli is far ahead of Babar as the Indian superstar has 70 international centuries to his name with around 12000 runs.
“He has 70 centuries in ODIs and Tests combined. In ODIs, he has some 12000 runs and is approaching the 10k mark in Tests as well. In T20I as well, he has some great numbers. His performance in all three eras is high-class,” added the 46-year-old.
But the Lahore-born also appreciated Babar for his hard work and felt that the young aspiring cricketers should follow the talented Pakistan skipper.
“Babar has worked on his talent. He undergoes tough drills and practices. I keep telling these younger players that the harder they work on their practice, the easier it will get playing matches. Babar has been doing that constantly, and look,” Yousuf added further.
