Babar Azam should never be compared with Virat Kohli, opined India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. This was an indirect dig by Ashwin at Pakistani batter Fakhar Zaman, who compared Babar’s poor run of form with the one that Virat Kohli endured from 2019-2022.
Pakistan’s selectors opted to withdraw Babar from the Test team for the final two matches of the ongoing series against England. Many experts and cricketers voiced their disgust.
Babar was dropped from the squad due to a succession of poor Test performances. The right-handed hitter scored 30 (71) and 5 (15) in the first Test, which Pakistan lost by an innings and 47 runs. Babar has failed to register a fifty in his past 18 innings in the longer version of the game.
Fakhar Zaman provoked outrage by criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and comparing Babar to Virat.
In 2023, Babar scored 204 runs in five matches at an average of 22.66, and his performance has deteriorated further this year. The 30-year-old batsman made only 148 runs in four Test matches, with an average of 18.50. He has not scored a half-century in Test cricket since the beginning of 2023.
Virat Kohli, like Babar, faced a difficult stretch in his Test career from 2020 to 2023. Kohli got starts and scored half-centuries during his dry spell. He has a remarkable record in SENA countries, with 11 Test centuries. Babar, on the other hand, has only one century of experience in hard settings in SENA countries.
Virat Kohli’s credentials are something else, Babar Azam is not even close: Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin, an Indian spin veteran, has sparked controversy in the cricketing community with his comments on the ongoing dispute over the batting abilities of renowned Pakistan batter Babar Azam and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli.
Speaking on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, Ashwin stated that the two should not be addressed in the same sentence, highlighting Kohli’s domination in the topic.
“Definitely, if he is given a chance, he will score runs. If there is class, that is okay. I feel we should end this debate once and for all. First of all, across the border, Babar Azam and Virat Kohli shouldn’t be mentioned in the same line,” Ashwin said.
While acknowledging Babar’s talent, Ashwin was clear about his admiration for Kohli, stating, “I am very sorry, I really rate Babar Azam as an outstanding player, but Virat Kohli’s credentials are something else. Across terrains, across times, across pressure situations, the kind of heists he has done, no one has done that in world cricket. As far as I know, at this point, if anyone comes close, it is Joe Root in Test cricket.”
The 35-year-old has scored 27,041 runs in 535 international matches, an average of 53.23, including 80 centuries and 140 fifties, with a top score of 254. He has guided his team to the summit of international cricket, winning the ICC U19 World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, and ICC T20 World Cup, cementing his place as one of the game’s legends.
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