The cricketing fraternity has often drawn comparisons between Indian captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan captain Babar Azam, due to the similarity in their batting techniques, hunger for runs, and the huge influence on their respective teams at the highest level.
Now, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has compared a few qualities of both the players. However, he pointed out the difference between Kohli and Babar’s style and revealed what makes Pakistan skipper makes better than their Indian counterpart.
He said Kohli and Babar both are world-class batsmen and score runs everywhere while dominating the opposition, so talking about the technique is pointless, saying other attributes like physique, resilience, and mental strength need to be assessed ahead of technique at the international level.
While Kohli is known for the passion and aggression on the field, Babar always looks calm and composed on the ground and the former spinner believes that the Pakistan captain’s composure gave him an edge over the Indian captain as calm always triumphs over the aggression.
Mushtaq said on Pakistan Cricket's YouTube channel: “Virat gets aggressive, but Babar is humble and calm, which is a positive for him. Sports science says that when there is a matchup between aggressive and calm personalities at the top, calm always triumphs. Babar Azam always appears calm, and this is where he has an edge over Virat Kohli.”
He signed off by saying, “Both are making runs, so the talk of technique is pointless. What I think is that, while the technique is needed, but when you are making runs, the technique is thrown out of the window. Attributes like tactics, physique, resilience, how to apply pressure, and mental strength become more important at the highest level.”
