Ahead of the highly-anticipated Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan, the Men in Green captain Babar Azam has revealed his first interaction with ex-Men in Blue skipper Virat Kohli. Babar and Virat have been the two premier batters in the world right now and the duo has often had kind words for each other. In a snippet shared by Star Sports on X (formerly known as Twitter), Babar shed light on his meeting with Virat during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.
The Pakistan skipper revealed that he had quizzed Virat on several aspects in order to better his game and the latter provided him with insightful answers.
"Hearing compliments from someone like Virat Kohli was an incredibly proud moment for me; it boosted my confidence," Babar said.
"I had the opportunity to meet him during the 2019 World Cup. At that time, he was at the height of his career, and he still is. I was eager to learn from him, and the experience was highly educational. I posed questions that I had been pondering, and he provided very insightful answers," he added.
Babar and Virat will be seen in action on September 2 (Saturday) in Kandy when India and Pakistan cross swords in a pulsating fixture.
The Pakistan skipper started his Asia Cup campaign in style as he breached the 150-run mark for only the second time in his ODI career. The stylish right-handed batter scored 151 runs off 131 balls in the opening fixture of the Asia Cup against Nepal at Multan Cricket Stadium. During his impeccable innings, Babar smashed 14 fours and four sixes.
Babar's knock came just the right time as he would now look to play a similar innings against India on Saturday. It was Babar's 19th ODI century on Wednesday and he is just one shy of tying Saeed Anwar's record of scoring most tons for Pakistan in ODIs.
Indian bowlers will have a tough task of keeping Babar, who is yet to score a half-century against India in ODI cricket.
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