5 former cricketers who have opened up on the Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam debate

The Virat Kohli versus Babar Azam debate seems to be a never-ending one. While the Indian batting run machine made his international debut back in 2008, Babar played his first match for Pakistan in 2015. However, following his rapid rise in international cricket, Babar has invited comparisons with the former Indian captain numerous times in the recent past.

Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq recently joined the big debate in world cricket. Misbah stated that comparing the two players is wrong since Kohli has played a lot of cricket, while Babar is just starting. In a video posted by paktv.tv, he said that when Babar plays the same amount of cricket as Kohli, only then would it be fair to make a comparison between the two batters.

In the wake of Misbah’s comments, we revisited five instances when other former cricketers opened up on the Kohli versus Babar debate.

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#1 “Kohli is slightly better” - Mohammad Azharuddin

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin.

Apart from Misbah, former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has also recently shared his views on the raging Kohli versus Babar debate.

While admitting that it is difficult to compare cricketers, he ended up rating Kohli slightly higher than Babar. Azhar was quoted as telling Cricket Pakistan:

“Kohli is a seasoned player. His numbers are huge. I feel it is always difficult to compare two players, but these are two very different players. But if you see, Kohli is slightly better.”

While Kohli has amassed 24936 runs from 490 international matches at an average of 53.74, Babar has so far scored 11864 runs from 241 international games, averaging 49.84.

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#2 “It's like comparing Wasim Akram and Shaheen Afridi” - Salman Butt

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt.

Pakistan captain Babar was recently in the news as he won two major ICC honors. He was named the Men's Cricketer of the Year 2022 as well as the Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year 2022.

Following the awards, the Kohli-Babar comparison kicked off again with great fervor. However, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt stated that there is no basis for comparison between the two. In a chat on paktv.tv, he commented:

“Both are world class cricketers and top-notch performers. But there's no comparison with Virat Kohli at this point of his career. Kohli has scored 74 international tons and he didn't score a hundred in three years. Now you can imagine the magnitude of his performances.

“There's no comparison. It's like comparing Wasim Akram and Shaheen Afridi. It's not right.”

While Babar won both the major individual awards in men’s cricket, Kohli was named in the ICC T20I Team of 2022 for his stupendous batting performances in the format last year.

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#3 “He still has a long way to go” - Wasim Akram on Babar being compared with Kohli

Pakistan legend Wasim Akram. Pic: Getty Images

Speaking ahead of last year's Asia Cup, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram termed the comparison between Babar and Kohli "natural". He referenced standout performers being pitted against each other during various eras.

While praising Babar, Akram, however, stated that he still has a long way to go before he can be compared to the Indian run-machine. The former Pakistan skipper told Star Sports during a discussion:

“The comparison between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli is natural. During my days it was Inzamam-ul-Haq vs Sachin Tendulkar before that it was Javed Miandad vs Sunil Gavaskar. Babar is on the right track to become an all-time great, but he still has a long way to go before he can be compared with Virat Kohli.”

While Kohli has 74 international hundreds from 490 matches, Babar has 28 from 241 matches.

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#4 "He is my son's favorite player" - Sanath Jayasuriya picks between Kohli and Babar

Former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya. Pic: Getty Images

In September 2022, former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya was asked to pick his favorite between Kohli and Babar. Unlike some others, his answer was rather uncomplicated, very much like his batting.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Jayasuriya commented:

"I like Virat Kohli. He is my favorite player and also my son's favorite player too."

A legend of Sri Lankan cricket, Jayasuriya played 110 Tests, 445 ODIs, and 31 T20Is from 1989 to 2011.

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#5 “Great ambassadors, but two entirely differently people” - Javed Miandad

Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad.

During an interaction, a couple of years back, Pakistan’s cricketing legend Javed Miandad urged people to stop comparing Babar and Kohli. Stating thatthe comparisonss are unfair, he was quoted as telling Sportstar:

“They are two different people and they are different from each other. They play the same game and are successful cricketers for their teams, but it is unfair to compare the two.

Referring to player comparisons from previous eras, Miandad added:

“In our time, India was all about Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath. Then came Sachin Tendulkar. But it is not right to compare the two cricketers, right? So, here too, Azam and Virat are great ambassadors of the game, but are two entirely differently people.”

While Babar and Kohli are often pitted against each other as rivals, both cricketers have great mutual admiration for each other.

The Pakistan captain shared a tweet in support of the Indian batter during the latter’s tough phase, which won a lot of hearts. Kohli too has spoken out openly in praise of Babar the batter and person during various interactions.

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