Virat Kohli was already well-known in cricket after winning major tournaments like the Champions Trophy and the ODI World Cup when Babar Azam made his debut for his country in May 2015. In the 2014 T20 World Cup, he was again named Player of the Tournament. A segment of the cricket community began drawing comparisons between Babar and Kohli when he started to score runs for Pakistan on a regular basis.
Ahmed Shehzad, a former opener for Pakistan, feels that Babar has suffered because of this comparison, which has increased his pressure to deliver consistently. The cricket player-turned-expert claims that Kohli is a better athlete and batter than even the legendary MS Dhoni.
According to Shehzad, Kohli is unlike any other cricket player.
“You were conducting campaigns comparing players when everything was going great. “Don’t compare two players,” you say now when the performances aren’t coming. Why not? It is impossible to compare Virat Kohli to anyone else in the world. He is a role model and a legend in this generation. Not even MS Dhoni can be compared to him. Even though Dhoni was an excellent captain, Kohli is unmatched as a batter, cricket player, and athlete. Shehzad was cited by GeoSuper as saying, “No one should be compared to anyone because it’s unfair and adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam.”
In international cricket, Babar has been going through a pretty protracted slump. He has lost his spot in the Test and T20I teams as a result of his poor performances. He hasn’t participated in T20I cricket since December 2024, despite his successful return to the Test system during the home series against the West Indies in January 2025.
The 30-year-old was only able to score 47 (64), 0 (3), and 9 (23) in three matches during the just finished ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. Pakistani supporters have been harshly criticising Babar for his poor performances.
India
