Aim is to be like Virat Kohli, says Babar Azam

What's the story?

Pakistan's in-form batsman Babar Azam has said that it's 'flattering' to be compared to modern-day great Virat Kohli. He revealed that his aim is to emulate Kohli's performance in the cricketing arena.

"It’s flattering to be compared to Kohli," Azam said. "He is very consistent, and his mindset is very good. He gives 100 per cent every time he walks out to bat. I am at the start of my career, so the aim is to be like him, and be the epitome of performance in each of Pakistan's wins."

In case you didn't know...

24-year-old Azam is currently at the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I rankings for batsmen. He averages well over 50 in ODIs and T20Is. In 59 ODIs, Azam has scored 2462 runs. Talking about the shortest format, the batter has 1182 runs with nine fifties.

The heart of the matter

However, the same can't be said about his Test performance. Unlike Kohli, Babar averages a modest 35.28 in whites. But a change in fortune has made him the highest run-getter for Pakistan since the start of 2018. He has netted 760 runs at an average of 50.66.

Pakistan's coach Mickey Arthur rates Babar very highly. According to Arthur, the world hasn't yet witnessed the best of Azam. Not too long back Arthur had compared his ward with Kohli. But he admits that it was a bit quick to make such remark two years back, but feels the batter has come a long way.

What's next?

As Pakistan prepare for the World Cup, the onus will be on Babar to lift the side in the mega event. They will play a limited overs series against Australia in UAE as a part of their build-up for the World Cup. The series will kick-start from March 22nd onwards.