In 47 Tests, Babar Azam has stitched together 3696 runs at an average of 48.63. In ODIs though, the Pakistan captain’s average shoots up remarkably, having scored 5089 runs in 100 ODI matches at 59.17.
The debate around which batsman is better — Virat Kohli or Babar Azam — will continue with the ICC ODI World Cup set to be held in India in a few months. But former Pakistan captain Imran Khan weighed in on the discussion and said that Azam’s quality is good enough that he could surpass Kohli.
The former Indian captain’s highly consistent run saw him break record after record even though the last couple of years has seen Kohli experience a run slump. “I haven’t recently seen cricket, but I believe that Virat Kohli and Babar Azam belong to the same class. Babar Azam can surpass Virat Kohli; he is that good, from what I have seen,” Imran Khan said to a local Pakistan journalist.
In 47 Test matches, Azam has stitched together 3696 runs at an average of 48.63. In ODIs though, the Pakistan captain’s average shoots up remarkably, having scored 5089 runs in 100 ODI matches at 59.17.
The similarities between the two isn’t just relegated to the positives. Both batsmen are condoned often for their below-average strike rate in T20s. In 104 matches, Azam’s strike rate hovers around 128.40.
Last year during the Asia Cup, Kohli spoke about his relationship with Azam and said, “Babar is a very nice guy. I have always had good conversations with him. I am not sure about kinship since he is much younger to me, but there is respect. There is always respect.”
He then added, “He was always keen to learn. He spoke to me after our game in the 2019 World Cup. I have always said he is keen to learn, and there’s no surprise that he is playing like this in all formats of the game. He is obviously a very talented player.”
