"We can expect that to happen again"- Sanjay Manjrekar on comparisons between Virat Kohli & Babar Azam during Asia Cup

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar fully expects comparisons to be made among the performances of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam during the upcoming Asia Cup starting from August 31.

Kohli has arguably been one of the greatest all-format batters the game has ever seen. However, Babar Azam's glorious first few years in international cricket have made many fans believe that he could be as good as Kohli, if not better.

Speaking to Star Sports, Sanjay Manjrekar explained how greats like Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar stand apart because of their longevity at the top of the game. He said:

“Absolutely, and we can expect that to happen again. Just one thing that you know people like Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have had to deal with that they've had long careers and they sort of have spanned over 10-15 years and anytime there's been a rising star, he's been compared to a guy who's been in the race for a long time. So sometimes it can be a little unfair but the greatness of these two guys is that they maintain that standard that the best performance of a rising player is equated with it.”

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Sanjay Manjrekar on expectations from Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in Asia Cup

Kohli has had a history in turning up in big games and on big occasions and Manjrekar feels it will be more of the same from the veteran batter. However, he also believes that with the Asia Cup being a 50-over tournament this time, Babar Azam could come very close to Kohli.

On this, Manjrekar stated:

“Yes, both very good players. One obviously in his prime younger but coming to these kind of platform we want to say Virat Kohli and see with the format that we have here not the T20 format, Asia Cup this time round you might just see a bit Babar Azam and maybe show his place as well.”

India and Pakistan will lock horns against each other at Kandy on September 2 in the Asia Cup.