Comparison between Kohli and Babar makes no sense says Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq was quite blunt when asked about the comparisons between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Cricket PassionEditor
Posted - 2023-01-30T12:38:08+06:00
Updated - 2023-01-30T12:38:08+06:00
Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq dismissed comparisons between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, saying the Indian star played more cricket than the 28-year-old. Kohli and Babar are considered two of the greatest players of modern times.
Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq tried to end comparisons between Virat Kohli and Pakistan's Babar Azam by saying that both batsmen are currently at different stages in their careers.
Misbah also pointed out that Babar's testing performance was affected by factors beyond his control, such as a lack of planning and team selection.
"It's unfair to compare Virat Kohli to Babar Azam. Kohli has played a lot of international cricket. Meanwhile, Azam has just started his career. We should compare when both have played the same amount of cricket. Kohli's performances are second to none at the moment," he said.
With a second consecutive ODI Player of the Year award, Babar matched the performance of Indian grandmaster Virat Kohli, who received the 2017-18 awards. Babar's punching power has led many to compare him to Kohli but former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes it is too early to compare the two.
Misbah told that Azam was just starting out and that his career should be judged on that basis: "There shouldn't be any comparison between the two. Kohli has played a lot of cricket, Babar is just starting. If Babar plays the same amount of cricket then you can make a comparison. Kohli has played more cricket and at the moment nobody can hold a candle to him. Yes, Babar is a class player and he could achieve the same as Kohli in the future, but right now it doesn't make sense to compare the two because it's just a start for Babar."
Kohli had twice won ICC's ODI Player of the Year award in 2017 and '18. Azam now has an amazing 59.4 average in ODIs and has the fourth highest runs in T20s with 3355 goals in 99 games.
Earlier on, another former Pakistan captain - Salman Butt - said that comparing the two would be like drawing parallels between "Wasim Akram and Shaheen Afridi" and insisted it was too early to give the verdict.
Babar has represented Pakistan in 47 Tests, 95 ODIs and 99 T20Is to date. He boasts an incredible 59.4 Fifty-over average and is currently the fourth highest run-getter in T20Is (3,355). Kohli, on the other hand, leads the chart among shortest format runs scorers (4,008) and has 74 international centuries to his credit.