Brad hogg, Babar Azam, Virat Kohli
Brad hogg, Babar Azam, Virat Kohli

Brad Hogg, former Australia cricketer, has chided fans and former cricketers for comparing Babar Azam’s ongoing poor patch of form with that of Virat Kohli during 2019-22. This comes after Babar Azam was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the rest of the England Test series.

Babar Azam managed 30 and 5 in the first Test in Multan and extended his run of innings with no fifty scores to 19 consecutive knocks.

The spinner’s comments came after Babar Azam’s followers took to social media after the batter was axed from the Test team, arguing against the move with the example of Virat Kohli.

Even Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman rushed to Twitter to declare that India never dropped Virat Kohli while he was struggling between 2020 and 2023. Fakhar described Babar as one of Pakistan’s top batsmen and warned that dismissing him would send a negative message to the team.

Fakhar Zaman compared Babar Azam to Virat Kohli

“It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them,” Fakhar said on X.

Hard decisions made: Brad Hogg on Babar Azam being dropped from the Pakistan team

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg, on the other hand, had a completely different perspective on the topic, claiming that Babar and Virat’s lows should not be compared because the Pakistan cricket team’s results differ significantly from those of the Indian sides.

Hogg pointed out that during Virat’s lows, India was the second-best team in the world, whereas during Babar’s lows, Pakistan was the second-worst. Hogg believed that tough decisions needed to be made in difficult circumstances.

“Comparing bad form between Babar Azam & Kohli after rumours the Pakistan legend will be dropped for the 2nd test v England is baseless. India: 2nd best win % during Kohli’s draught. Pakistan: 2nd worst win % through Babar’s. Hard decisions need to be made!” Hogg posted on X.

Babar Azam has been in horrible form, not only in Tests but also in ODIs and T20Is. Babar has failed to hit a fifty in his past 18 Test innings and has also performed poorly in the T20 World Cup 2024.

at the last encounter against England, Babar got out after being challenged on both his outside and inside edge and was unable to make huge runs on a flat surface at Multan.

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