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'He Can Easily Surpass Virat Kohli...,' Imran Khan Makes A Shocking Statement On Babar-Virat Comparison

image-liu5hk9hBabar Azam rejoicing after scoring a century (Twitter)

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has topped Babar Azam to surpass Virat Kohli if the Pakistan star continues his current trajectory. Speaking to a local sports journalist, the 1992 World Cup-winning captain was quoted as saying, 

“I haven't recently seen cricket, but I believe that Virat Kohli and Babar Azam belong to the same class. Babar Azam can easily surpass Virat Kohli. He is that good, from what I have seen.”

Babar, who is six years younger than Kohli, has scored 12,270 runs in 251 games in his international career, which includes 30 centuries. In contrast, Kohli has amassed nearly double that tally and sits on 25,322 runs in 497 international matches, which includes 75 tons. In terms of form, however, the Pakistan batter is in the ascendancy, scoring 276 runs in five ODIs in the recently concluded series against New Zealand. The 28-year-old also scored an unbeaten century during the five-match T20I series against the same opponent.

Babar, who made his international debut in 2015, recently, became the fastest player in the men’s game to reach 5,000 runs in ODIs. He reached the landmark in 97 innings, beating the likes of Hashim Amla (101), Sir Vivian Richards (114) and Kohli himself, also on 114. He also holds the record for the most consecutive half-centuries in international cricket with an astonishing nine.

While Kohli’s exemplary ODI and Test records will take some catching, he can definitely be caught up in the T20 arena. Babar recently equalled Kohli’s record as the fastest batter to 3,000 T20I runs, matching the 81 innings it took him to achieve the feat. In fact, he stands just 523 runs behind Kohli in the T20I run-scoring charts, with the Indian batter currently on 4,008.

The upcoming 50-over World Cup in India will definitely give Babar the chance to prove Imran Khan right as the eyes of the cricket world will be on the prestigious tournament which is slated to be held in October and November of this year.