Virat Kohli will be remembered as one of the greatest, Babar Azam has still got to make a name for himself: Mudassar Nazar
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar has dismissed comparisons between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, saying there is a hell of a difference between the two players. According to Mudassar, while Kohli is one of the greats of the game, Babar still has to make a name for himself.
Kohli and Babar are considered among the finest batters of the current era. Both players share a great mutual admiration for each other and have openly expressed the same on several occasions.
While both India and Pakistan fans constantly draw comparisons between the two, Mudassar reckons that both players are not in the same league as of now. Speaking to news agency PTI, he commented:
"I mean there is a hell of a difference between the two players. Virat will be remembered as one of the greatest who has graced the game. Babar has still got to make a name for himself."
The 68-year-old further praised Kohli and India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, saying that watching them bat at their peak is a fantastic experience.
"I love to watch Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. When they are at the peak and playing well, it is fantastic to watch them. You could sit in front of the TV for hours and just watch those two play," Mudassar added.
Rohit and Kohli were part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. While the former was India's leading run-getter in the tournament, with 257 runs from eight innings, the latter top-scored in the final with 76 off 59 balls.
Kohli, Babar comparisons are pointless: Zaheer Abbas
Before Mudassar, former Pakistan legend Zaheer Abbas also termed the comparisons between Kohli and Babar pointless. Speaking at the Cricket Predicta Conclave, he opined, as quoted by Cricket Pakistan:
"The comparisons are pointless, Virat Kohli scores in every match, the other player (Babar) doesn't score in any match, so then how can you compare? The person who scores, he is the bigger player."
Kohli (35) is the fourth-leading run-getter in international cricket. In 535 matches (595 innings), he has amassed 27,041 runs at an average of 53.23, with 80 hundreds and 140 half-centuries. As for Babar, he has 13,836 runs to his name in 294 matches (328 innings) at an average of 47.54, with 31 hundreds and 94 fifties.