Comparing Babar Azam to Virat Kohli is Nonsense: Mudassar Nazar

It is nonsensical to compare Babar Azam with Virat Kohli, the only comparison for the Indian captain is the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, former Pakistan batsman Mudassar Nazar has said.

Nazar, until recently the Director of Academies at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, told Pakpassion.net that Babar will become a great batsman in due time.

"Pakistan supporters dearly need a hero they can believe in and I feel that Babar Azam has all the capabilities to make them happy. For some strange reason, many keep on comparing him to Virat Kohli which is nonsense because right now, the only comparison of Kohli is with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar," said Nazar. "Babar will continue to grow and become a great himself, but it will take time.

Nazar assessed that Babar was a little suspect outside the off-stump in Test cricket, but was showing signs of rectifying his mistakes.

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"The advent of Covid-19 caused a break in cricket otherwise, he was starting to deliver really well in Test cricket too," he explained. "I believe he is working hard to improve himself further as there was a time when he was a little suspect outside the off-stump and would frequently get caught in the slips or be caught behind."

In recent times, though, Babar has shown tremendous confidence against pace even in conditions like Australia.

"But as his game stands now, he has the confidence to take on any bowling attack as he did against Dale Steyn who has fantastic outswing, and Babar was in complete command against him," Nazar said. "He has already got a Test hundred in Australia and should he get another in England later this summer then he would be all set to move to greater heights in future."

Babar, 25, has played 26 Tests, 74 ODIs and 38 T20Is, scoring 1850, 3359 and 1471 runs respectively. Kohli, meanwhile, has played 86 Tests, 248 ODIs and 82 T20Is for  7240, 11867 and 2794 runs in the respective formats.