Babar Azam calls Virat Kohli a 'legend,' aspires to get to his position one day

Pakistan's ace batsman Babar Azam on Monday said that he desires to achieve the position at which Indian skipper Virat Kohli is today. This comes after Babar scored a magnificent century against Sri Lanka in the drawn first match which fostered Test cricket's return to Pakistan after ten years. The number one batsman in ICC T20 batsman rankings said that there is no comparison between him and Kohli since the latter has achieved a lot already, however, he wants to get there soon. 

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'He is a legend'

In an interview with news agency PTI, Babar Azam said that Virat Kohli is a legend in his country and also highlighted that media and people have often drawn comparisons between the two. "The media and people have drawn comparisons between me and Virat Kohli but I realise that I still need to get more runs in red-ball cricket to be ranked among the top players. That is why in recent months I have been focusing a lot on getting consistent scores in Test matches." Furthermore, Babar added, "I don’t feel any pressure if anyone compares me with Kohli or (Steve) Smith. I am now more focused on my batting and I spend hours watching videos of my innings. I catch my mistakes and then I try to ensure I don’t commit them again the next time."

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Pakistan's number three, Babar Azam, also reflected upon the longest format of the game and stated that it is the most difficult format. He added that he is looking forward to score a triple century in Test cricket and that he has set a target for himself to become consistent in Test cricket. Speaking about missing out on a century against Australia in Brisbane, Azam said, "When I got out cheaply to a bad shot in the first innings at Brisbane, I was very cross with myself because I realised no top batman should get out like that. In the following innings, I made it a point to be patient and build my innings although playing strokes comes naturally to me.” 

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First Test ends in a draw

With only 91.5 overs being possible on the first four days as rain, bad light and overcast conditions affected play, the fourth day was abandoned without a ball being bowled. But there was bright sunshine on Sunday as Sri Lanka batted for 20 minutes to declare their first innings at 308-6 with middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva scoring an unbeaten 102. With gates opened to the crowd for free, about 12,000 fans were kept entertained by Dhananjaya and then Abid Ali who notched up a fine century on debut. However, the match ended in a draw. 

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(With agency inputs)