Credit: ICC
Former Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad has said that Babar Azam’s comparison with Virat Kohli has impacted the former negatively. Babar, after performing exceptionally during the initial stage of his career, grabbed a lot of eyeballs in his country. Pakistan supporters also started drawing analogies between him and India batting maestro Kohli. This year, Babar recorded a new low in his career when he lost his spot in Pakistan’s T20 International (T20I) team. During Pakistan’s recently-concluded white-ball tour of West Indies, Babar made a comeback in international cricket with his ODI appearances against the Caribbean side. In the three-match 50-over competition, the 30-year-old could score only 56 runs at an average of 18.66.
Ex-Pakistan opener Shehzad recently appeared on Pakistan’s news channel GeoSuper and said that comparing Babar with Kohli cost the former as it only added pressure on the Green Army’s star player. “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. 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,” said Shehzad.
Babar Azam’s ODI performance for Pakistan in recent months
Babar Azam’s form has plummeted drastically in ODIs. The veteran has played 11 ODIs this year and scored only 334 runs at an ordinary average of 30.36. His last ton in the format came against Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 game played at the Multan Cricket Stadium in August 2023.
In the Champions Trophy 2025 held in Pakistan and Dubai, the Men In Green got eliminated after losing to New Zealand and Team India in the group round. In the high-octane clash against the Men in Blue at the Dubai International Stadium, he could chip in with only 23 off 26 while Kohli smashed an unbeaten hundred, which guided India to a convincing six-wicket win.
