Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan has lauded his teammate Babar Azam and India's senior batter Virat Kohli for their consistency. Azam feels that youngsters can learn from Babar and Kohli on how they approach the game on the international stage. Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Azam said that it is their ability to stick to their basics that helps them stand out of the lot.
"I think everyone should learn consistency from Babar Azam and Virat Kohli and the dedication they have towards their work. Even If the world falls apart and they aren't able to perform, they will stick to their basics and both of them are the best batters of their respective countries currently," Azam who is currently playing for Desert Vipers in ILT20 2025 said in a media interaction as quoted by CricTracker.
Azam responded to the criticism Kohli is facing after slump in form in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The wicketkeeper-batter feels Kohli is far bigger a player to get an advice from him.
"I know Virat is currently struggling with form after the Australia series, but more than me he knows how to overcome it. I don't think players of Virat's stature would require a piece of advice from me and to make him remember how big of a player he is, I am sure he knows about it," added the 26-year-old who has played 14 T20Is.
Kohli unavailable for Ranji Trophy due to neck sprain
Meanwhile, Kohli has suffered a sprain in his neck. He is unavailable to play in Delhi's next Ranji Trophy 2024-25 and has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical staff about it. The 36-year-old is set to make his return with the three-ODI series against England at home preseding the Champions Trophy 2025.
Azam's major slump in form
Azam has struggled for form recently as well. In the first two games, he registered scores of 8 and 2. In his last 10 T20 appearances, his high score is 29. Seven out of 10 of these scores have been in single-digits.
He is not in Pakistan's scheme of things in any format for now. His last appearance in international cricket was in T20 World Cup 2024. So far, he has scored 88 runs from 13 innings in T20Is at an average of 8.80.