Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur compared
23-year-old Babar Azam with a young Virat Kohli.
Virat
Kohli has risen to the top levels
in world cricket following strong performances across formats. He sits second
in the Test rankings, top in ODI and T20I rankings and his numbers are often
used to compare to other stars in the game. Steve
Smith, top ranked Test batsman, Kane
Williamson, AB de Villiers, Joe Root
are often named as the leading batsmen in world cricket. Kohli’s rise from a
young and determined batsman to a composed head as India skipper in all formats
of the game has further earned him higher praise.
Across the border, Babar Azam has emerged as one of the rising
stars of the game and earned plenty of plaudits by former and current stars. He
has also been compared to Kohli by Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur with both
coming to bat at No.3 spot aiding the match-up. But the 23-year-old is not keen
on being drawn into the comparison. Arthur had said that Azam reminded him of a
younger Kohli. “He compared me with a very big player. I think it shouldn’t be
done. But that is the coach’s thinking. Maybe the stats at the start of our
careers are similar, but he is the No. 1 batsman in the world. I want to
perform at a high level for Pakistan too,” said Azam in an interview to ESPNCricinfo.
He further explained that he follows Kohli, Hashim
Amla and his batting hero de
Villiers. “I loved watching AB de Villiers in the early days. I used to follow
him closely. I copied him a lot too. In the nets, I used to at least try some
of the shots he played in the matches. I play normally. Nowadays I follow Virat
Kohli, Hashim Amla, and of course, de Villiers,” he said.
In the India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy Final, Azam scored 46
runs off 52 balls where the Men in Green went on to claim the title in June
earlier this year. The right-handed Azam has played 36 ODIs so far in his
career, scoring 1,758 runs at an average of 58.60. He has seven half-centuries
and seven hundreds to his name. In the longest format, he has played 11 matches
but hasn’t had the same impact with 475 runs at an average of 23.75.
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