"Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are the only two batsmen in the world whose styles are being copied" - Zaheer Abbas
Zaheer Abbas has opined Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are the only two current batters in the world whom other batters attempt to imitate.
Former Pakistan skipper Zaheer Abbas recently took part in an interview with Cricket Pakistan. During the interview, he was asked to pick the top three batters globally right now. Abbas named only two players - Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Many fans regard Indian skipper Virat Kohli as one of the greatest batters of the modern era. Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has also won fans' respect with his incredible batting performances.
Answering Cricket Pakistan's question, Zaheer replied:
"Captain of the Indian team, Virat Kohli is up there. There is no doubt that he is one of the best batsmen in the world. Then there's our hero, Babar Azam and may god give him a long career and get more good performances out of him. He's really good. You've asked me a tough question but I believe these (Virat Kohli and Babar Azam) are the only two batsmen in the world whose styles are being copied."
Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are present in the Top 10 of the ICC Rankings for Batsmen in all formats, which shows how consistently the two batters have performed across formats over the last few years.
Zaheer Abbas says a few IPL stars have tried playing Virat Kohli and Babar Azam's shots
Zaheer Abbas further pointed out how a few rising stars tried playing the shots of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in the IPL.
"I have seen a few batsmen doing it. In the IPL, I watched a couple of games, and there were batsmen playing the cut shot through slips and gully. So such shots have become common and so many batsmen are playing them," Abbas added.
Lastly, Zaheer heaped praise on Babar Azam, stating all Pakistanis were proud of their skipper. He signed off by hoping Azam would continue to win matches for the nation.