Wasim Akram: “I’ll probably get a lot of slack back home, but I will definitely pick Virat Kohli over Babar Azam. Babar is on the way, there is no doubt. He is one of the modern greats, but it will take some time. He will catch up, but it will take time”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Wasim Akram, the legendary pace icon, said he would rather pick India batting superstar Virat Kohli over Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
Both players have regularly been compared to each other since they are the batting spearheads for their respective teams.
Explaining his decision, Wasim noted that Kohli is on a different level compared to Azam right now.
However, he made it clear that while the Pakistan skipper is catching up, “it will take time” for him to accomplish what Kohli has achieved in his illustrious career.
“I’ll probably get a lot of slack back home, but I will definitely pick Virat Kohli over Babar Azam. Babar is on the way, there is no doubt. He is one of the modern greats, but it will take some time. He will catch up, but it will take time,” Wasim was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam is currently playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has made scores of 5, 10, 50 and 18 in Pakistan’s first four games against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, India and Australia.
As for Kohli, he has amassed 354 runs in five games, which includes a century and three fifties, at an average of 118.
Knowing he is in need of runs, Azam will be searching for a big score in Pakistan’s next match against Afghanistan on October 23 in Chennai.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali