Aaqib Javed, Pakistan’s former pacer who is currently the head coach of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Lahore Qalandars, believes that India’s skipper and star batsman Virat Kohli can take a leaf out of Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s book in order to improve his technique.
Aaqib Javed also urged Babar Azam to follow Virat Kohli’s fitness routine while talking to Cricket Pakistan in an exclusive interview.
Aaqib Javed: Virat Kohli Has A Better Range Of Shots Compared To Babar Azam But Has To Improve Technique
Virat Kohli and Babar Azam’s comparison is a never-ending story. Both have been compared because currently, they are the best batsmen in their respective nations. Also, they belong to the two rival countries so the fans keep debating about the best player between the two.
“Virat Kohli has a better range [of shots] as compared to Babar Azam but he also has one area of weakness. If the ball swings, he tends to get trapped around the off-stump such as against [James] Anderson in England,” said Javed.
“When you look at Babar, you don’t see any weak areas. Just like, [Sachin] Tendulkar who also didn’t have any weak areas. Babar is technically more safe and sound but if he follows Kohli’s fitness routine he will become an even better player. Meanwhile, Kohli can improve his technique by looking at Babar so that he doesn’t get trapped,” he added.
Babar Azam, the 25-year-old Pakistan ODI, and T20I captain had gained fame with his batting in a short period of his international career. Many experts say that he has a reflection of India’s captain Virat Kohli’s batting.
Aaqib Javed Praised Babar Azam For His Consistency And The Fact That Captaincy Hasn’t Affected His Form
Aaqib Javed also praised Babar Azam for being the backbone of the Pakistan team over the past couple of years. Babar Azam has captained Pakistan in 6 ODIs, 15 T20Is, and 2 Tests.
“During the past two or three years, Babar Azam is 50 percent of Pakistan’s batting. I never thought that he would be this consistent and even go past Virat Kohli [in ODI rankings]. Pakistan is very lucky, he came when the team was struggling and has single-handedly put the team on the right track. Even, captaincy hasn’t affected his form,” he concluded.
While the 32-year-old Virat Kohli has set a great example of consistency in batting and fitness which he has maintained for a long time, the 26-year-old Babar Azam has also impressed in a similar way.
The No. 1 ranked ODI batsman, No. 5 ranked Test batsman, and No. 5 ranked T20I batsman Virat Kohli has maintained the 50 plus batting average in every international format. The No.2 ranked ODI batsman, No.6 ranked Test batsman, and No.3 ranked T20I batsman Babar Azam averages around 56 in ODIs and around 44 in Tests, and around 47 in T20Is.
While Babar Azam has around 10,000 runs in all 3 formats combined, Virat Kohli is more experienced having amassed almost 20,000 runs in ODIs and Tests combined. He is the only batsman to score more than 3000 runs in T20Is ahead of Martin Guptill, Rohit Sharma, Aaron Finch, and Mohammed Hafeez to name a few.