Babar Azam will match up to Virat Kohli within 5 years time: Younis Khan

Pakistan's ODI and T20I captain Babar Azam has been one of the best batsmen in the world across formats recently. The Pakistan international has been in tremendous form since making his international debut. Babar Azam is currently in the top five of the ICC rankings across all three formats and is the only player to do so. And it doesn't come as a surprise that he is being compared to India skipper Virat Kohli by the numbers he has achieved so far in his career.

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Younis Khan reckons Babar Azam should be compared with Virat Kohli after 4-5 years

Statistically, when it comes to stats across formats, Virat Kohli is miles ahead of all his counterparts such as Azam, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. At the age of 31 itself, Virat Kohli has hit an astonishing 70 centuries and 104 half-centuries in international cricket. Virat Kohli has 43 centuries to his name as he is second in the list of most centuries in ODIs. He is the only player in the world with an average of more than 50 in all the three formats of the game.

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Now, former Pakistan captain and the team's current batting coach, Younis Khan has made a huge claim about Babar Azam. While speaking to reporters, Younis Khan said that he doesn't like comparisons. He lauded Virat Kohli's game and said that the Indian captain is without any doubt the top batsman today who has performed across all formats.

Younis Khan further said that Babar Azam has also performed in all formats in recent times. He added that Babar Azam has the potential to become a legend of the game like Virat Kohli although not now, but in five years time. Younis Khan further said that after four-five years, if comparisons are drawn between the two, then it would be more suitable.

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Ramiz Raja says Babar Azam has the potential to go past Virat Kohli

Prior to Younis Khan, former Pakistan cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja has made a huge claim. Ramiz Raja has said that Babar Azam has the ability to even go past Virat Kohli. But according to Ramiz Raja, Babar Azam has to get an encouraging environment around him to be the best in the world. Ramiz Raja also said that Babar Azam needs to think about only winning the game for Pakistan and play freely.

According to Cricket Pakistan, Ramiz Raja said that for Babar Azam, the sky is the limit. Ramiz Raja added that until and unless Babar Azam gets the environment which is encouraging and engaging, he won’t be able to live up to his potential. He has the potential to even beat Virat Kohli but he needs to free up his mind and not think about losing. As soon as he does that and thinks about scoring runs and winning, he will remain a great player for a very long time.

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IMAGE COURTESY: BCCI/ICC TWITTER