Legendary Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar has shared his thoughts on the comparison between Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Kohli is one of the best batsmen of modern-day cricket as he rules the game across the formats. At present, he is the only batsman to average 50-plus in all three forms.
On the other hand, Babar has also climbed up the ladders of excellence and become the favourite batsman of several fans across the world. Many former cricketers have been impressed by Babar’s remarkable consistency in the game.
Speaking on the red-hot topic, Akhtar opined that the two players should not be compared because it is completely wrong and baseless. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ reckoned that the Indian superstar would score 30 more tons to reach the magical figure of 100 international centuries in the coming years. Akhtar expressed that he wants to see Kohli scoring at least 110 hundreds.
“Virat has what… 70 centuries in international cricket, right. So in the next five years, he will get 30 more, and I want him to get 120 centuries, or at least 110. See, with these many runs, who can be compared to him? The debate in itself is wrong. And Babar is now coming through. It’s really good that there is healthy competition,” Akhtar told Sports Tak.
The 45-year-old further spoke about how Babar can expand his game in order to catch up with his Indian counterpart. The former international mentioned that Babar needs to show utmost consistency in future, and in that process, he will definitely become the greatest Pakistan batsman of all time, but whether he can better Kohli is something that can only be decided in another 10 years.
“If Babar needs to beat Virat and surpass him, he will have to score more runs chasing and play the kind of innings Kohli has. There is no doubt that Babar Azam can probably be the greatest batsman of Pakistan, but it will take time. We will judge Kohli and Babar after 10 years where they stand,” Akhtar added.
