Harbhajan Singh: “Virat Kohli has established himself as a great, while Babar Azam still has a lot to do”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Harbhajan Singh, the former India spinner, believes that Pakistan captain Babar Azam “still has a lot to do” before he is good enough to be compared to India batting star Virat Kohli.
The duo have regularly been compared to each other as they fulfil the same role for their respective countries.
Harbhajan noted that Kohli’s accomplishments have made him a great of the game, but Azam is not at that level yet despite having broken numerous records.
“Virat Kohli has established himself as a great, while Babar Azam still has a lot to do,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam has enjoyed a solid run of form with the bat over the past couple of months as he scored 76 runs in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He then proceeded to amass 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
As for the Asia Cup, the 28-year-old from Lahore made 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan got off to a strong start in the tournament as they hammered Nepal by 238 runs before having to share one point apiece with India after their match was rained off.
Having made it through to the Super Four stage, the men in green continued to dominate as they registered a convincing seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.
However, they stumbled in their next match against India as they were comprehensively beaten by 228 runs.
Pakistan had an opportunity to reach the Asia Cup final when they took on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo, but they couldn’t get the job done as they lost by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir