Don’t feel any pressure on being compared with Smith and Kohli: Babar Azam

Babar Azam, the prolific Pakistan batsman, reckons that he has a long way to go before he can be compared with Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper. Babar had scores of 104, 97 and 102* in the last three Tests he played and has arguably been Pakistan’s standout batter irrespective of the format. Owing to his consistent run, the netizens have started drawing his parallels with Virat.

But Babar feels that he needs more runs in red-ball cricket in order to be rated amongst the best. However, the Young Turk expressed his desire to reach Virat’s stature and has been focussing on being more consistent in Test cricket.

“Look he (Kohli) has already achieved a lot. He is a legend in his country. Honestly there is no comparison with me right now but eventually I also want to get where he is today,” Babar was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

Babar Azam focussing on Test cricket

“The media and people have drawn comparisons between me and Virat Kohli but I realise that I still need to get more runs in red ball cricket to be ranked among the top players. That is why in recent months I have been focusing a lot on getting consistent scores in Test matches,” he stated.

Babar scored his maiden Test century in his 16th Test after making his debut in October 2016. From there on, he hasn’t looked back and has kept piling on runs. He is also ICC’s number-one ranked T20I batsman and is one of the main reasons behind Pakistan’s dominance in the format.

Apart from Virat, Babar has also been compared to Steve Smith, whose Test average is only second best to Don Bradman. But the commotion doesn’t bother Babar. Rather he tries to analyse his own game and focus on not repeating the same mistakes.

“I don’t feel any pressure if anyone compares me with Kohli or (Steve) Smith. I am now more focused on my batting and I spend hours watching videos of my innings. I catch my mistakes and then I try to ensure I don’t commit them again the next time,” Babar added.

Babar’s next assignment is the second Test versus Sri Lanka at the National Stadium in Karachi, starting Thursday, December 19.