Former cricketer Ahmed Shehzad slammed the Pakistan media for Babar Azam’s comparisons with India batting maestro Virat Kohli. Babar, the former Pakistan captain, has suffered a massive dip in his form.
He has failed to score an international century since August 2023, when he hit a ton against Nepal in the Asia Cup. The 30-year-old has been put under the scanner after his flop show in the ODI series against the West Indies. He scored 56 runs in three matches with two single-digit scores, including a three-ball duck in the second ODI.
Shehzad, who is a big admirer of Kohli, lashed out at the Pakistan media for running campaigns comparing Babar with the Indian superstar in the past, but now, when his form has dipped, the stance has changed.
“When everything was going well, you were running campaigns comparing players. Now that the performances are not coming, you are saying ‘don’t compare two players’. Why not? Virat Kohli’s comparison cannot be made with anyone in the world. He is a legend of this generation, a role model,” said Shehzad, as quoted by The Times of India.
Babar lost his white-ball captaincy after the forgettable T20 World Cup 2024. Under his leadership, Pakistan failed to get past the group stage after they lost their opening match to the non-Test-playing nation USA and then later suffered defeat against arch-rivals India. He has already lost his place in the T20I set-up as Pakistan have decided to give a chance to young players, considering his form, his ODI place is also under the scanner now.
He had another flop outing on Tuesday, scoring just 9 off 23 balls as Pakistan lost the third ODI and series to the West Indies.
“Virat Kohli stands alone”
Meanwhile, Shehzad heaped praise on Kohli and said even India’s World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni should not be compared with him when the debate is about batter, cricketer and athlete.
“You cannot compare him even with MS Dhoni. Dhoni may have been a great captain, but as a batter, cricketer and athlete, Kohli stands alone. No one should be compared with anyone because it’s unfair and it adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam,” he added.