Babar Azam recalls Virat Kohli's advice which helped him improve his game

Pakistan skipper across formats, Babar Azam on Wednesday became the fourth Pakistani batsman to secure the top spot in ICC Rankings for batsmen in ODI cricket. He leapfrogged Virat Kohli to occupy the numero uno position. Babar Azam has been one of the finest young cricketers of the modern generation and time and again experts and fans have compared Babar with Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

With the sort of rivalry, India and Pakistan share both on and off the field, comparisons are bound to come but whenever Babar has been compared with Kohli the former has always said he looks up to Kohli and he has a lot more to achieve which Kohli already has in his international career.

After becoming the No 1 ODI batsman in world cricket, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a video where Babar can be seen indulging in an interactive session with his teammate Imam-ul-Haq. During that brief interaction, Babar Azam revealed that how a piece of advice from Virat Kohli helped him in his own batting.

“Previously, I used to play at nets with a casual mind but slowly I overcame this. I understood that If I am not taking my sessions seriously, how can I perform in matches?,” Babar said.

“In this regard, I once talked to Virat Kohli and he told me to take net sessions as seriously as matches. If you get out and play rash shots in nets, subsequently you will do the same in a match,” he added.

Babar Azam whose ultimate dream is to become the No 1 batsman in Test cricket said that Kohli’s advice helped him a lot and that has helped him bat with more intensity in the nets.

“His advice helped me and now I don’t get satisfied with my batting at nets. If my net session doesn’t go well, I am disturbed throughout the day,” Babar said.

Babar Azam looked in sublime touch during the recently concluded ODI series against the Proteas. He began the series with a brilliant century and followed it up with a match-winning 94 of 82 deliveries in the series decider. His consistent run helped him get eight points clear of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, he also smashed a match-winning century in the 3rd T20I which helped Pakistan chase down a mammoth target of 205 with utmost ease. His knock of 122 came in just 59 deliveries as Pakistan chased the target down with two overs to spare.

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