• Home
  • Cricket News
  • From Babar To Shehzad Pak Batters Whose Comparison With Kohli Never Made Sense

From Babar To Shehzad: PAK Batters Whose Comparison With Kohli Never Made Sense

Anurag Dasgupta

Players who got compared with Virat Kohli [Source: AFP Photo] Players who got compared with Virat Kohli [Source: AFP Photo]

Social media tends to elevate a player even when they are unproven or have not done anything significant. This frequently happens in Pakistan, that whenever a young player performs, he instantly gets recognition, and gets compared to India legend, Virat Kohli. The Delhi cricketer made his debut in 2008, and since then, has become one of world cricket's greatest batters.

Hence, whenever a Pakistan cricketer performs exceedingly well, a social media buzz commences, and the player gets compared with Kohli. Here are 3 Pakistan stars, who were once at the top of their game, and got compared with former India captain, Kohli.

1) Ahmed Shehzad

One of Pakistan's most promising cricketers, Ahmed Shehzad, made his international debut at the same time as Kohli, and he was the first player of his nation to slam a century in all three formats. Over the years, he became Pakistan's batting mainstay, and with his impeccable technique, he was touted to become one of the best in the world.

Naturally, with Kohli also peaking at the same time, fans in Pakistan started the comparison between the two players, but the India star had more hunger to succeed, and went ahead in the race. Eventually, Shehzad was dropped from the team after a string of poor performances, and Kohli became the world's best batter.

2) Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal, the younger of the two Akmal brothers, hogged the limelight in his debut Test match against New Zealand in 2009. Akmal smashed a scintillating century in his maiden Test outing against the likes of Chris Martin and Shane Bond, and it felt like Pakistan had got a champion batter for the next decade.

Experts even believed that Umar Akmal had a higher ceiling than Kohli, and his technical flair, combined with his flamboyance, made him a household name. However, just like Shehzad, Akmal was inconsistent with his performance. Often, he would play a brilliant cameo and would leave his team in a dire situation, something which Kohli never did. He never truly got the chances he deserved, and was dropped from the side.

3) Babar Azam

The latest batter to be compared with Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, rose to prominence quickly after his debut for Pakistan, and after a dry spell of not finding a quality batter, Pakistan finally got a gem in Babar.

Quickly, he became their top batter, and Babar had a similar stance to Kohli, and he also became popular for his excellent cover-drive shot, which was made famous by Kohli. Since his debut, Babar broke several of Kohli's ODI records, as Pakistan fans felt they have got someone who could replace Kohli as the world's top batter.

But since 2023, his career has gone downhill, with 72 innings without a single century across formats. He is yet to win a match for Pakistan single-handedly, a trait for which Kohli is known for.