Pakistan’s all-format skipper, Babar Azam, has been often compared to the likes of Team India skipper, Virat Kohli, New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson, and Australia’ Steve Smith. He, however, time and time again has downplayed the comparisons with his peers.
After leading Pakistan to a historic ODI series over South Africa, Babar is now being compared to Rohit Sharma. The 27-year-old, however, once again downplayed the comparisons by saying that ‘Rohit Sharma is a different player than I am’.
Babar registered scores of 103, 31, and 94, amassing a total of 228 runs at an average of 76, in the three-match series. After Pakistan clinched the series 2-1, he stated that he plays according to his strength and is currently working on his long shots.
“Look, Rohit Sharma is a different player than I am, I play according to my strengths. I am working on my long shots and the idea is to utilize that skill when it’s needed,” he told PakPassion.net.
After playing a knock of 94 runs in the third and final ODI in Centurion, Azam Babar is all set to dethrone Kohli at the top in the ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen. The Indian skipper leads the ICC ODI Batting Rankings with 857 points.
Since India are not scheduled to play any ODI series in the coming months, Babar is likely to keep the spot for long. Last week, during the first ODI, he also became the fastest men’s cricketer to score 13 ODI tons.
Since making his debut in 2015, Babar Azam has smashed 3,808 runs with 13 hundreds in ODIs. Also, his batting average (56.83) in ODIs is second-best presently (50 or more matches) after that of Kohli (59.07).