Wasim Akram says: “Comparing Babar to Virat right now is a bit too early”

Wasim Akram, a Pakistani bowling star, believes that comparing Babar Azam to Virat Kohli at this time is premature, but that Babar is on the right road. The two hitting stars have been compared for several years.

When India takes on Pakistan in their Asia Cup opener on Sunday in Dubai, all eyes will be on Kohli. Kohli will enter the match with a clear head after a break from the away series against the West Indies. While Kohli has been without a century since November 2019, the much younger Babar appears to be at the prime of his powers and doing well across forms.

Virat Kohli ▶️ 21,901 runs at 56.15 in 416 games
Babar Azam ▶️ 6,680 runs at 50.60 in 138 games

He's on the right track! 😉 pic.twitter.com/IPiX3SAXWl

— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2020

Babar, who made his debut for Pakistan in 2015, has pleased everyone with his smooth batting technique. He has 3122 runs in 42 Tests with 7 centuries and 4664 runs in 92 ODIs with 17 hundreds. Babar has 2686 runs in 74 T20Is, including one century and 26 fifties.

After being rested in the series against West Indies and Zimbabwe, all eyes will be on Virat’s performance. When India and Pakistan play soon, everyone would be looking at both Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, who is in good form. The last time India played Pakistan, Babar scored a fifty.

Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best 👏

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) July 16, 2022

Former cricketers Wasim Akram and Ravi Shastri participated in a virtual engagement to discuss the forthcoming Asia Cup and what to anticipate.

Wasim Akram remarked to reporters: “First of all let me start by saying that criticism from Indian fans against Kohli has been unnecessary. He is one of the greatest of all time, not just in this era. He’s still fit as a fiddle. He is still one of the best fielders in the Indian squad. ‘As they say class is forever’ and that is Virat Kohli. Hope he doesn’t come back to form against Pakistan but he will come back eventually.”

The famous bowler believes Pakistan’s skipper is on the right road and has the potential to imitate Kohli’s greatness and become one of the modern-day superstars in the coming years. However, he still has a long way to go before he can be compared to the Indian sensation.

“It is natural. When we played, I remember people used to compare Inzamam-ul-Haq with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, before that it was Javed Miandad-Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath-Zaheer Abbas. It is only natural, like you said Babar has been very consistent in all three formats because he has got the right technique, that is why he has been so consistent. He enjoys his batting; he gets runs and is still pretty hungry. He is physically fit, he is still young and of course he is the captain for all three formats,” added Akram.

This is Wasim Akram had to say with regards to the comparisons between Babar and Virat:

“He is a young captain; he is still learning. As far as comparisons are concerned, I think it is bit too early for me, Babar is on the right track to be where Virat is but comparing him to Virat at this stage is a bit too early. But as I said he is on the completely right track to be one of the modern-day greats.“

Wasim Akram was also asked about the significance of the Asia Cup for Virat Kohli, who hasn’t hit an international century since November 2019.

Akram replied to the question saying: “Not just Virat, but for every player from every team. This tournament is very important for all teams from Asia. It is practice before the World Cup, and if you win, it would be icing on the cake, you’ll get the confidence if you get runs or wickets against top sides.”

However, Ravi Shastri stated that playing so many games leading up to the World Cup might result in injuries, which is why every team should have a larger pool heading into the tournament.

“Once the squads are announced for the World Cup, I think the cut-off period is one month. So, once you play these bilaterals, ensure you have a bigger squad. Add another 5-6 players who you can put into the mix to give the main players a break who will be playing the World Cup,” stated Shastri.

India will take on Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai in the Asia cup 2022.