File photo of Babar Azam and Virat Kohli© AFP
Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq admitted that Virat Kohli is ‘way head’ of Babar Azam in one particular aspect.
- NDTV Sports Desk
- Updated: March 28, 2023 07:57 AM IST
Two of the finest batters of this generation, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam have often been compared to each other. While Kohli has been at the top of his game for a long time, Babar has shown in the early phases of his career, that he is destined to be considered among the greats. While both batters have done wonders for their team over the years, former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has explained the area where Babar isn’t as good as Kohli.
In an interview with the Times of India, Razzaq called Virat an ‘outstanding’ player. What puts him above Babar, according to Razzaq, is his fitness.
“Virat is an outstanding and fantastic player. The best part is that he takes his team along. His intent is always positive. He utilises his skills very well. The main thing is that his fitness is world-class. Babar Azam’s fitness is not like that of Virat Kohli’s. Babar needs to work more on his fitness. Babar is Pakistan’s number one player. Babar is in fact the world number 1 batter (ODIs). Be it in any format of the game, Test, ODI, or T20I, he has been consistently performing well. Every country has one player like them (Virat and Babar),” he said.
Razzaq then asked people to refrain from such comparisons as both are excellent in their own way.
“We don’t need to compare them. It’s like asking, who is better – Kapil Dev or Imran Khan? These comparisons are not good. Kohli is a good player in India. Similarly, Babar Azam is a good player in Pakistan. Kohli is a world-class player, Babar is too. But Kohli’s fitness is way better than Babar’s,” he opined.