Asia Cup 2022 | Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: Who is better?

Babar Azam (left) and Virat Kohli. Pics: Getty Images

India and Pakistan will kick off their Asia Cup 2022 campaign by taking on each other at the Dubai International Stadium on August 28. The tournament will be significant for both teams as they look to build their respective squads for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November.

The last time the two sides met, Virat Kohli was the Indian captain while Babar Azam was in charge of Pakistan. While Babar remains Pakistan's leader, Kohli has been replaced as skipper by Rohit Sharma. Apart from Rohit, a lot of eyes will be on how Kohli and Babar perform in the marquee game of the Asia Cup 2022.

The two star players of India and Pakistan are considered part of the 'Fab 4' of international cricket. Numerous comparisons have been drawn between the two over the last few years.

As the Men in Blue and Pakistan get set for yet another battle, here’s a comparative analysis of Kohli and Babar in T20Is.

Overall T20 records

The India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 clash will be Kohli’s 100th, so he will be keen to make the occasion extra special. In 99 T20Is, he has smashed 3308 at a strike rate of 137.66. He has 30 fifties, with a best of 94 not out.

As for Babar, he has featured in 74 T20Is and scored 2686 at an average of 45.52 and a strike rate of 129.44. He has slammed a century and 26 fifties, with a best score of 122. Babar’s strike rate is slightly slower, but he has a T20I ton to his name. There is nothing much to separate the two here.

Performance in winning causes

Kohli has an excellent T20I record in winning causes for India. He has played 62 matches that India have won, scoring 2223 runs at an average of 61.75. Kohli averages 85 from seven matches in Australia, a whopping 98.75 from 10 games in Bangladesh and 76.09 from 21 matches in India.

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Babar has slightly underwhelming numbers in comparison to Kohli when it comes to performances in winning causes. He has scored 1916 runs in 50 matches at an average of 47.90.

He averages 55.16 from 16 games in Pakistan and 54.66 from 16 matches in the UAE, where the Asia Cup will be held. Babar averages over 60 in England and New Zealand, but has played only a handful of T20 matches in the two countries.

Performances in India vs Pakistan matches

Players might not admit it, but when it comes to Indo-Pak cricket matches, the pressure is of a completely different level. Cricketers need to have a big heart to perform in these high-octane clashes.

Kohli has played seven T20 matches and has scored 311 runs at an average of 77.75 against Pakistan. He smashed an unbeaten 78 in the 2012 T20 World Cup match and a defiant 57 when the teams met in the T20 World Cup last year. The pressure of playing against Pakistan always seems to bring out the best in Kohli.

The T20 World Cup clash last year was Babar’s first T20 match against India. He came out of the challenge with flying colors, scoring an unbeaten 68 in Pakistan’s 10-wicket thumping of India. Babar will be keen to leave his stamp on the game when India and Pakistan renew their rivalry in Asia Cup 2022.

Asia Cup T20 numbers

Kohli has played five T20I matches in the Asia Cup and has scored 153 runs in four innings at an average of 76.50, which has been bolstered by two not outs. For Babar, this will be the first time that he will be playing the Asia Cup in the T20 format, so it will be a different kind of challenge for him.

Recent T20I form

If we look at the performances of the two players starting from 2021, Kohli has played only 14 matches in which he has scored 380 runs at an impressive average of 47.50. He is averaging 75 in seven games in India.

Kohli, with 231 runs, was the leading run-getter in the five-match series against England at home in February last year. However, things have gone downhill for him since then.

He scored a half-century in the T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan and one against West Indies. However, the former Indian captain looked completely out of sorts in England, scoring one and 11 in the two T20Is he featured in.

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Looking at Babar’s record in T20I matches since the start of 2021, the Pakistan skipper has scored 1005 runs in 30 games at an average of 38.65. He is averaging 60.60 in the UAE from six games and more than 50 in South Africa and West Indies from four games each.