Babar Azam, on Monday (April 2), once again downplayed comparisons with star batsman and Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
In 2016, Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur had compared Azam with Kohli, saying the batsman is an exceptional player and could perform as good as the Indian leader.
Since then, Babar has been consistently collated with Kohli. After every good knock, Babar is more or less asked about the comparison. And on most of the occasions, he said that he is far behind the Indian swashbuckling star.
Last year, he had opened up on the comparison, saying:
“He (Mickey Arthur) 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.”
Well, he had to address the question once again after sublime innings of unbeaten 97 in the second T20I against West Indies. And just like the previous occasions, Babar once again downplayed the comparisons.
Calling Kohli a legend, the right-handed batsman said that he is nowhere near the Indian star.
“Virat Kohli is a legend. I am nowhere near him. He is way ahead of me,” Azam said.
Babar Azam also expressed his disappointment over missing his maiden T20I century by just three runs.
“I am very sad. I missed a few balls [that could have been hit for runs] which played a role in missing out the century. I was discussing with Shoaib Bhai whether I should take a chance [with a big shot] or try to get to the century by running ones or twos,” Azam stated.
Coming to the game, Pakistan thrashed West Indies by 82 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Batting first, the hosts scored 205 for three before bowling out the visitors for 123 in 19.2 overs.
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