Babar Azam, the right-hand Pakistani batsman had a few words to say about his comparison with Indian skipper Virat Kohli and thankfully, it’s not an outlandish remark as the one which was made by Umar Akmal. Azam believes that he and Indian skipper, Virat Kohli are two different batsmen with their own styles.
In sharp contrast to what Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur and team-mate Umar Akmal (also his cousin) believe about Babar Azam, the 22-year old preferred to tackle a journalist’s inquisitive question in one of the most matured ways ever seen by a Pakistani youngster.
When asked about any similarities and the comparison between himself and the Indian skipper, Babar said, “I am different and Kohli is different. My focus is on delivering for Pakistan and that’s my main objective. The team’s atmosphere was and still is very good. Meanwhile, as a team, our focus is to improve our rankings in the ODI format where we are number eight”.
Despite Pakistan Cricket witnessing one of the biggest lows in history and criticism of the players being a constant these days, Babar Azam is hopeful about his team and is just focusing on the betterment of Pakistani Cricket team rather than getting into controversies that his cousin, Umar Akmal, is no stranger to.
Also Read: Umar Akmal’s Witty Remarks About Virat Kohli Triggers a Backlash
Mickey Arthur and Umar Akmal, on several occasions, had lavished praise on Babar Azam’s skills and both have declared that the right-hander is as effective on the pitch as Kohli was at the same age.
However, taking about his next assignment being the tour of the Caribbean which is scheduled to begin later this month, Babar said that he has been practicing his bowling apart from facing other bowlers in the nets and wishes to play as an all-rounder in the future.
Everything said and done, his remarks about Virat Kohli are nothing compared to what Umar Akmal had commented on the comparison with India’s run machine and while Akmal, being a senior here, knew little about how to handle questions like these, his cousin, Babar Azam, seems to have gathered all the experience needed to stay away from controversies and is enjoying his term with Pakistan’s main team.
Meanwhile, Babar’s debut in International Cricket is one of the best things that have happened to his country during the current shortage of dependable players in the squad.
Earlier this year, Babar became the joint-fastest batsman in ODI history to reach the 1000-run mark, by achieving this feat in just 21 matches. He has now joined the likes of Caribbean legend Sir Viv Richards, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, and Quinton de Kock, who are some of the defining players of the game.
In comparison, Kohli took 24 games to achieve the landmark.
However, his Test career has not kicked off with a great start as he just has 300 runs under his belt in 6 games at an average of 27.27.
Interestingly, Virat Kohli’s numbers in the first 6 Tests were not any good either. He scored 234 runs at an average of 21.27.
Nevertheless, comparisons between two batsmen who are at different stages of their respective careers do not make much sense these days.
As for Babar, he should look forward to create his own identity rather than letting these comparisons take the better of him, however, if there is something that he can learn from Virat Kohli (if he wants to), he should try and emulate the remarkable work ethic for which the Indian Skipper is known for.
14th March, 2017
Rohan Jaitly