Compare me with Pakistan greats Miandad, Inzamam instead of Kohli: Babar Azam

Reacting strongly to the ever-rising comparisons between him and India captain Virat Kohli, Pakistan batsman Babar Azam said he would rather want to be compared with Pakistan greats like Javed Miandad, Younis Khan, and Inzamam-ul-Haq, reported Hindustan Times.

“If you want to compare me with someone, I would like to be compared to Pakistan’s players, instead of Virat Kohli. We have had legends like Javed Miandad, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq. If you compare me to these legends, I will like it more and feel proud of my accomplishments,” Azam told reporters in a teleconference.

The comparisons between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam started to gain momentum after the newly-appointed Pakistan limited-overs skipper displayed similar rise to international cricket like the Indian captain.

Babar is the number one ranked T20I batsman while Kohli is at the top spot in ODI rankings.

The 25-year-old Azam averages over 50 in ODI and T20Is and a little over 45 in Tests. Kohli, on the other hand, is the only batsman currently who averages over 50 in all three formats of the game.

Over the past six-seven years, Kohli’s run-scoring consistency has made him one of the front-runners to match Sachin Tendulkar’s towering numbers, especially in ODIs. Kohli already has 70 international centuries - 43 in ODIs and 27 in Tests.

Babar Azam, who, did not have the best of starts to his red-ball career has started taking giant strides in Test cricket the last 12 months or so. He is a part of the 20-member Pakistan squad that tested negative for Covid-19 last month and arrived in England for the three-match Test series against England, where he will be up against the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Jofra Archer.

Notably, Kohli had terrible outing in England when he toured there for a full test series first time in 2014. The captain, however, turned it around by becoming highest scorer in the 2018.

Meanwhile, England and West Indies will lock horns in the three-match Test series, beginning July 8 and this will mark the return of international cricket after a gap of more than three months.