Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli recalled how he was first introduced to Pakistan captain Babar Azam in ODI World Cup 2019 in England. Kohli spoke highly of Azam and rated him as "probably the best batsman in the world across formats".
"The first interaction I had with him [Babar] was during the 2019 [ODI] World Cup after the game in Manchester. I've known Imad [Wasim] since the Under-19 World Cup, and he said Babar wanted to have a chat. We sat down and spoke about the game. I saw a lot of regard and respect from him from day one, and that hasn't changed," Kohli had said in an interview with Star Sports.
“Regardless of the fact he's probably the top batsman in the world across formats, and rightly so. Performs so consistently and I've always enjoyed watching him play.”
Cricket pundits often compare Kohli with Azam. People also debate over who has a better cover drive.
The first time Kohli and Azam went up against each other as captains was in England. India won the encounter easily in the rain-curtailed affair. However, a couple of years later, the Azam-led side became the first Pakistan side to beat India in a World Cup event. Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan’s record-breaking partnership helped Pakistan beat India in T20 World Cup 2022.
India and Pakistan will lock horns on September 2 on Sri Lanka soil in the Asia Cup 2023. The arch-rivals may face each other twice more in the Asia Cup. A few weeks later, the two sides will go up against each other on October 14 at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad in a high-voltage ODI World Cup 2023 clash.
Azam recently completed 5,000 runs in ODI cricket and became fastest in the history to do so as well. He has scored 5,089 runs from 100 games at an average of 59.17 including 18 centuries and 26 half-centuries. Since Azam's ODI debut, Kohli has scored 6,361 runs from 117 matches at an average of 64.90 including 24 centuries and 32 half-centuries.
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