[Watch] When Shaheen Afridi Chose One Between Babar Azam & Virat Kohli

image-lq66lmtcBabar Azam and Virat Kohli (Twitter)

The longstanding debate on greatness featuring India legend Virat Kohli and modern-day Pakistan stalwart Babar Azam seems to have spread across all borders and entered changing rooms, with even players from either side now being asked to pick one among the two giants of world cricket. 

Fans and media houses on either side of the border put the players on the spot and regularly ask for their preferred pick among the two prolific scorers with the bat. 

While Kohli has always held the numero uno tag in the current era across formats, Babar's rise has given him prominence and given fuel to the debate which the two cricketers have never truly cared about at a personal level, holding a deep sense of admiration and respect for each other. 

Shaheen Picks One Among Kohli-Babar

Some take names, but some choose to avoid the query, as did Pakistan's tall speedster Shaheen Afridi when ESPNcricinfo asked him to pick one of Kohli and Babar as his favourite batter during a special Q-A session. 

Put under pressure, Shaheen funnily decided to name "both" as his favourite batters in the modern era, having played almost entire international career of his so far alongside and under Babar while always keeping Kohli's wicket on a pedestal, recognising his greatness and impact value. 

Shaheen has previously marvelled at Kohli's genius across Tests, ODIs and T20Is after coming across him on multiple occasions now in marquee tournaments such as the Asia Cup, the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup. 

Any other batter in comparison and Shaheen would've easily taken Kohli's name without any hesitation. But Babar's rising stature at the international level and close proximity to the former Pakistan captain made it a tough choice and forced him to dead-bat the question very smartly.