Former Pakistan pacer, Shoaib Akhtar, believes it is unfair to compare Babar Azam and Virat Kohli as both batsmen are at different stages of their careers. Akhtar said that while Kohli has established himself as one of the greats of the modern game, Babar still has time on his hands to get to Kohli’s position.
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Akhtar said that both Babar and Virat are two of the greatest batsmen in world cricket today but it does not make sense to compare them. Akhtar said that Kohli has already amassed 70 international centuries and has been playing for over 12 years, while Babar is still young in international cricket and has plenty to prove.
Rawalpindi Express claimed that Kohli will at least score 30 more centuries in international cricket and surpass the record of former Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 100 international centuries in his career. He added that it is very difficult for any batsman in the world to catch up to the record of Kohli and currently Babar is way off the target.
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The 45-year-old said that Babar will consistently need to perform for the next few years to get near Kohli and the debate will make sense when both the players have retired from international cricket. He said that Babar is well on his way to be regarded as the finest batsman produced by Pakistan but only time will tell if he can be regarded as a better batsman than Kohli.
“If Babar needs to beat Virat and surpass him, he will have to score more runs chasing and play the kind of innings Kohli plays. There is no doubt that Babar Azam can probably be the greatest batsman of Pakistan, but it will take time. We will judge Kohli and Babar after 10 years where they stand,” Akhtar remarked.