Karachi: Pakistan middle-order batsman Babar Azam has yet again played down his comparison with Virat Kohli, saying that he stands “nowhere near” a legend like the Indian skipper.
Speaking after his side’s 82-run win over West Indies in the second T20I of the three-match series, Azam said that though he tries to imitate Kohli, he could not be likened with the legendary batsman.
“I try to play like Kohli and compete with him,” the Dawn quoted Azam, as saying.
Earlier, Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir had also heaped praise on Kohli by dubbing him the `the best batsman in the world`.
Meanwhile, Azam also expressed his disappointment for missing out on a century by three runs during the second T20I.
Azam struck a quick-fire 58-ball 97 runs, including 13 boundaries and a six, besides sharing a huge 119-run partnership with Hussain Talat (63) to guide Pakistan to a respectful total of 205 for three.
“There was no pressure on me and I was in coordination with Shoaib Malik but unfortunately missed a couple of balls and eventually, my century,” he said.
Azam was called up to represent the green shirts during an ODI series against Zimbabwe, thus making an international debut on the home ground amidst Pakistan’s isolation as an international cricketing venue in May 2015.
In January last year, Azam became the joint-fastest player in history to score 1,000 career runs in one-day internationals when he struck a 100-ball 84 against Australia in the third ODI at the WACA, Perth.
He reached the landmark in just 21 innings to join West Indies great Viv Richards, England’s Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott as well as South Africa’s Quinton de Kock. Azam has appeared in a total of 41 ODIs for Pakistan scoring 1,789 runs and 11 Tests smashing 475 runs. He has also played 19 T20Is amassing 691 runs for the country.
Kohli, on the other hand, has performed exceedingly well across all formats of the game in the recent years.
The Indian skipper is currently ranked at number one spot in ODI Rankings while he is standing at the second spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
ANI