The never-ending debate over who is the better cricketer between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli has taken an interesting turn. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and batter Imam-ul-Haq recently joined the discussion and admitted that Babar Azam needs to do more to be considered in the same league as Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Despite having a stellar record in international cricket, Babar, 28, is often criticized for not being a match-winner like Kohli and De Villiers. Babar’s teammate Imam disclosed that the Pakistan skipper himself is aware of his strike rate issues and needs to bring more dominance and command in his game to finish matches.
Shahid Afridi also weighed in on the debate, stating that Babar Azam has not yet proved himself as a match-winner and is not in the same class as Kohli and De Villiers. Afridi believes that Babar needs to work on finishing games to reach the AB de Villiers/Virat Kohli rank.
In 272 matches across the three formats of the game, Babar has amassed 11864 runs at an average of 49.84, with 28 hundreds and 80 half-centuries. Despite these impressive numbers, his strike rate of 89.03 in ODIs and 127.80 in T20Is is a cause for concern. If he can work on his finishing touches and increase his strike rate, it will benefit both Pakistan and himself.
As Babar Azam leads Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2023, cricket fans around the world are eagerly waiting to see whether he can rise to the challenge and prove himself as a match-winner. Will he be able to silence the critics and cement his place in the same league as Kohli and De Villiers? Only time will tell.