Ian Bishop: “He has almost overtaken his next door neighbour the great Virat Kohli in terms of the ultimate 50-over batsman”
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Popular cricket commentator Ian Bishop said Pakistan captain Babar Azam has almost overtaken India superstar Virat Kohli as the “ultimate 50-over batsman”.
Kohli is widely considered to be the best ODI batsman of this generation, especially considering he has the second-most centuries in the 50-over format in history. Currently, he only sits behind the iconic Sachin Tendulkar and needs seven more hundreds to surpass the Little Master.
However, given that Azam has scored 17 centuries and is averaging 59.22 after playing 89 ODIs, Bishop feels that he is quickly catching up to Kohli.
“He has almost overtaken his next door neighbour the great Virat Kohli in terms of the ultimate 50-over batsman,” Bishop told Cricwick.
Azam is now captaining Pakistan in their three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in Rotterdam, where he has amassed 131 runs in two matches, which includes two fifties, at an average of 65.50.
After that, the men in green will participate in the Asia Cup, which will be held in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.
Pakistan squad for Netherlands ODIs:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mehmood
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir