Danish Kaneria: “Who is comparing them? I am tired of hearing that people compare them. When you’re talking about comparing, look at the runs Virat has scored. He has scored runs all around the world. He is a massive player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has asked who is even comparing limited overs captain Babar Azam to India batting superstar Virat Kohli.
Azam and Kohli have constantly been compared to each other since they are the backbone of their respective teams’ batting line-up.
However, Kaneria sees a clear gap between the duo, with Kohli being miles ahead of his Pakistan counterpart.
“Who is comparing them? I am tired of hearing that people compare them. When you’re talking about comparing, look at the runs Virat has scored. He has scored runs all around the world. He is a massive player,” he told Sports Tak as quoted by NDTV.
“Look at his stature, when he walks onto the field, his aura itself is different and he (Babar) does not come close, forget comparing them. All that is created by the channels to sell their product. I have had a lot of questions comparing them, but I have never done it. Look at the stats. When both of them retire, do take a look at the stats.”
Azam was recently in action in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he made 62 runs in three matches at an average of 20.66.
He then featured in the 2025 Champions Trophy and finished with 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament after losing to New Zealand and India.
Their last match against Bangladesh was washed out.
Next up for the men in green will be a white-ball tour of New Zealand, where they will play five T20Is and three ODIs from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir