“That’s the thing holding back his class” - Pakistan players discuss why Babar Azam is not in the same league as Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers

The discussion around who is better between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli is a never-ending one.

Recently, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and batter Imam-ul-Haq joined the debate. They frankly admitted that the current Pakistan skipper needs to do more to be tagged in the same league as Kohli and AB de Villiers.

Babar, 28, has an excellent record in international cricket. In 272 matches across the three formats of the game, he has amassed 11864 runs at an average of 49.84, with 28 hundreds and 80 half-centuries.

According to Babar’s teammate Imam, though, the captain himself is aware that he needs to dominate a lot more to be considered a match-winner. Speaking during a discussion on Samaa TV, Imam revealed:

“Because I know him [Babar Azam]nand this is spoken about in our discussions. Babar agrees with it too. He says: ‘I have played enough cricket, I need to bring more dominance and command in my game so that I finish matches and don’t leave them midway.’”

On Babar being often compared to Kohli and De Villiers, the 27-year-old added that his captain is well aware of his strike rate issues. Imam elaborated:

“He [Babar] understands it and we’ve spoken a lot about it. We discuss matches need to be finished and he needs to dominate. To reach the domination levels, as you said, of Virat, I feel he needs to work on his strike rate.

“As Misbah [ul-Haq] said, after he reaches fifty, he should play like he wants to so that bowlers get scared of him. Even when he gets set, you don’t feel it as a threat [as a bowler], [you don’t feel] that he’ll hit you for shots here and there.

“If he’s able to get those finishing touches, it will benefit Pakistan, but most importantly, it will benefit him.”

Babar Azam has a strike rate of 89.03 in ODIs and 127.80 in T20Is. Despite his stellar international numbers, he is often targeted for not going hard enough at bowlers.

---

“As a match-winner, he hasn’t proved himself yet” - Shahid Afridi on Babar Azam

During the same discussion, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi opined that Babar Azam may be the No. 1 batter in the world, but still needs to prove himself as a match-winner. Afridi elaborated:

“Babar is No. 1 in the world, he is the identity of the country, but one thing that stops him from reaching the AB de Villiers/Virat Kohli rank is finishing.

“As a match-winner, he hasn’t proved himself yet. If I am wrong, you can correct me. I want him to become a finisher. He should finish games. That’s the thing holding back his class.”

Babar is currently leading Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2023. In six matches, he has scored 178 runs at an average of 35.60 and a strike rate of 128.06.