Comparisons between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam began as soon as Azam made his debut. At first, for the way they went about his batting, India and Pakistan cricket fans agreed on a resemblance between the two cricketers. Later, however, as Babar continued to perform well, comparisons were made between them on the record’s front.
Although Kohli debuted approximately years ahead of Babar in ODIs, and five years ahead in Tests, their rise to the top has been very similar. Both were technically-sound right-hand batters who were later promoted to captaincy positions for their respective national teams. Comparisons however did not just end there.
Virat Kohli’s rise to the top has been unparalleled but Babar Azam not just matched his Indian counterpart but also bettered him in many records. In the ongoing Test match against Sri Lanka, the Pakistan captain has achieved a similar record as Virat Kohli.
In a stroke of great coincidence, the Pakistan captain scored 3000 Test runs in 73 matches, exactly the same that Virat took!
With a score of 119 and 55 in the two innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka, the Pakistan captain became the sixth-fastest Pakistan batter to achieve this milestone. Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yusuf were the fastest to 3000 runs in just 67 innings. Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan and Majid Khan took 68, 70 and 72 innings respectively reaching 3000 runs.
While Babar has matched Kohli’s pace for 3000 runs, the Pakistan batter has a long way to go. Virat Kohli is currently at 8074 runs in 102 Test matches meanwhile Azam has only played 41. Kohli is also held back by his poor reign of form, having not made a century since November 2019.
India and Pakistan currently do not play bilateral series against each other due to political differences. They however do meet in international competitions. The two cricketing greats are going to meet in the Asia Cup when India and Pakistan will play against each other next month.
