Former Pakistan pacer and the head coach of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Lahore Qalandars, Aaqib Javed, believes that Virat Kohli can take some help from Babar Azam to play the swing ball better.
Aaqib Javed, during an interaction with Cricket Pakistan, seemed impressed with Azam as he heaped praises on the 26-year-old saying that he is technically more safe and sound and doesn’t have any week areas just like Sachin Tendulkar.
The 48-year-old, however, added that one thing that the Pakistan skipper needs to learn from his Indian counterpart is how to improve one’s fitness as that will make him an even better player.
Pakistan’s all-format skipper has been the center of attraction for quite some time now owing to his spectacular performance in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series against South Africa.
“Virat Kohli has a better range [of shots] as compared to Babar Azam but he also has one area of weakness. If the ball swings, he tends to get trapped around the off-stump such as against [James] Anderson in England,” he said.
“When you look at Babar, you don’t see any weak areas. Just like, [Sachin] Tendulkar who also didn’t have any weak areas. Babar is technically more safe and sound but if he follows Kohli’s fitness routine he will become an even better player. Meanwhile, Kohli can improve his technique by looking at Babar so that he doesn’t get trapped,” Javed added.
The former Pakistan pacer also believes that Pakistan is lucky to have a talent like Babar Azam on their side as he forms 50 per cent of the team’s batting and has single-handedly put the team on the right track.
“During the past two or three years, Babar Azam is 50 per cent of Pakistan’s batting. I never thought that he would be this consistent and even go past Virat Kohli [in ODI rankings],” he stated.
“Pakistan is very lucky, he came when the team was struggling and has single-handedly put the team on the right track. Even, captaincy hasn’t affected his form,” Aaqib Javed signed off.