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Published 17:50 IST, July 2nd 2020

Babar Azam feels Pakistani legends are more worthy than Virat Kohli for comparisons

Pakistani captain Babar Azam has revealed that he does not want to be compared to Virat Kohli and would rather look to come in the same bracket as Pak legends.

Reported by: Wasiq Agha
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Babar Azam
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Ever since Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken onto the international stage, the player is constantly compared with Indian captain Virat Kohli. Both Babar Azam and Virat Kohli play at the same No.3 position in limited-overs cricket. While Virat Kohli is senior to Babar Azam and has amassed more runs than the Pakistani player, Babar Azam is giving a close fight to the Indian captain when it comes to the ICC rankings. 

Babar Azam is ranked as the No.1 T20I batsman, while Kohli is the No. 1 in ODI cricket.  Speaking ahead of Pakistan’s tour of England, Babar Azam has reinforced again that he doesn’t want to be compared with Virat Kohli.

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar Has High Hopes From Babar Azam To Revive '90s Brand Of Cricket' For Pakistan

Babar Azam prefers to be compared to Pakistani players

Speaking about the Virat Kohli-Babar Azam comparisons, the Pakistan captain said that he doesn’t want to be compared to Virat Kohli. While speaking to Pakistani journalists from England, Babar Azam went on to say that he would prefer if he is compared to his own country's legends like Javed Miandad, Mohammad Yousuf or the team's current batting coach, Younis Khan.

Babar Azam also talked about the upcoming series with England, as well as his goals for the series. Babar Azam revealed that he is targeting consistency in his batting, while also talking about the importance of converting a century into a double or triple century. Babar Azam concluded that that is something he is looking to do during the Test series in England.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Must Not Be Compared With Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar: Javed Miandad

Babar Azam has talked about comparisons with Virat Kohli in the past as well

This is not the first time the Pakistani batsman has opened up about his comparisons with Virat Kohli. In 2017, Babar Azam revealed that he and Virat Kohli are different players. He said that this main focus is on delivering for Pakistan and that is his primary objective. At that time, Babar Azam had also talked about the importance of improving the ODI ranking of the team.

Also Read: Younis Khan Calls Javed Miandad 'Pakistan's Sachin Tendulkar', Explains Reason For It

Several cricketing legends from Pakistan have also spoken about the Virat Kohli-Babar Azam comparisons in the past, such as Shoaib Akhtar and Younis Khan. Batting coach and former captain Younis Khan had recently said that he doesn’t like the comparison between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as well. Younis Khan also said that Virat Kohli is at the top of his game and has performed in all formats.

Younis Khan concluded that he expects Babar Azam to reach the level of Virat Kohli in five years from now. Recently, former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar also shared his expectations from Azam. Shoaib Akhtar while speaking on his YouTube channel revealed that he hopes Babar Azam can revive the ‘90s brand of cricket’ for Pakistan.

Also Read: Ravi Shastri Claims Javed Miandad Had No Chance To Win The Audi In '85 World Championship

Image Courtesy: instagram/virat.kohli, Instagram/babarazam

17:31 IST, July 2nd 2020