Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli

Between August 2017 and April 2021, former Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli dominated the ODI circuit to such an extent that no other player was able to dislodge the batsman from his No. 1 ODI ranking. On April 19, 2021, however, that all changed when Babar Azam ended Kohli’s 1,258-day reign at the top of the ODI rankings for batsmen.

The Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli debate has, in fact, been a hot topic ever since the Pakistan captain made his international debut in 2015. The reason was understandable as Babar emulated many of the moves that Kohli handled during his Under-19 stint. Day Although the Under-19 World title did not elude Pakistan’s batsmen unlike Kohli, Babar felt destined for greatness.

By the time Babar played his first international for Pakistan, Kohli had already played over 150 one-day internationals, hitting 20 plus tons. Fast forward to 2022, and it is Babar Azam who is now the fastest player to reach 2,000 ODI runs as it took him just 47 matches to do so. In contrast, it took Kohli 56 matches to reach the milestone. With that in mind, here’s a closer look at how the stats stack up when we compare two of cricket’s modern greats.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli Stats
The closest comparison we can make between the two is in T20 Internationals where the Indian batsman has played 97 matches compared to Babar’s 74. In these outings, the former batsman scored 3,296 runs at an average of 51.5. Babar, on the other hand, amassed 2,686 runs at an average of 45.52.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in T20I
Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	97	3296	51.5	137.67	0	30
Babar Azam	74	2686	45.52	129.44	1	26

It is impressive to know that despite playing 20 T20 matches more than the Pakistanis, Kohli has managed to keep his average above 50. The only thing that eludes him in T20s is the lack of centuries in the format, which Babar has. But he scored 30 half-centuries compared to Babar’s 26.

Since we are talking about numbers, let’s also take a look at Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli stats in other formats. Kohli is one of only six players in history to score more than 12,000 runs in the format, with the batsman scoring 12,311 runs so far. He is the fastest player to breach the 12,000-run mark, doing so in just 251 matches.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in ODI
Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	260	12,311	58.07	92.92	43	64
Babar Azam	87	4364	59.78	90.42	17	18

In Test cricket, Kohli again topped the charts with 8,043 runs in 101 Tests compared to Babar’s 2,851 runs in 40 Test matches. Furthermore, Kohli is the fastest player to score 7,000 runs in the longest format, having done so in just 81 matches.

As far as centuries go in all formats, Kohli is miles ahead of Babar. The Indian legend’s 70 international centuries surpass Babar’s overall record of 24 tons in all formats.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in Test
Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	101	8043	49.95	55.69	27	28
Babar Azam	40	2851	45.98	53.78	6	21

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli’s captaincy record
Now, here’s where things get interesting. Since being named Pakistan’s T20I captain in 2019, Babar has scored 1,330 runs in just 35 innings at an average of 41.56. The Pakistan batsman has scored a ton and 15 half-centuries during this period.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli T20I captaincy record
Virat Kohli	Metrics	Babar Azam
50	Matches	41
30	Won	26
16	Lost	10
1570	Runs	1330

For Kohli, his first assignment as T20 captain comes in 2017 before his captaincy reign ends in 2021. During this time, Kohli scored 1,570 runs as T20 captain in 50 matches, batting at an average and strike rate of 47.57 and 140.55 respectively.

Both the players have the same record in the shortest format of cricket. In his 41 T20I matches as captain, Babar won 26 matches and lost 10. On the other hand, Kohli has won 30 of his 50 T20 matches as captain, losing 16 times.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli Test captaincy record
Virat Kohli	Metrics	Babar Azam
68	Matches	11
40	Won	7
17	Lost	2
5608	Runs	416

In Test cricket, Kohli has led India in 68 Tests, losing 17 and drawing 11 times. Babar, meanwhile, only took charge of the Test team in 2020 and has played just eight Tests as captain, winning seven and losing once.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli ODI captaincy record
Virat Kohli	Metrics	Babar Azam
95	Matches	9
65	Won	4
27	Lost	4
5449	Runs	626

As for captaining the ODI team, Babar has only 13 matches as Pakistan’s 50-over captain during which he has won seven and lost five matches. Kohli, however, has captained India in 95 ODIs where he has won 65 matches and lost 27.

Virat Kohli’s three-and-a-half-year reign as the number one ranked One-Day International (ODI) batsman came to an end last week. After a sensational batting display in South Africa, Babar Azam ousted him from the top spot.

Babar led Pakistan to a 2-1 ODI series win in South Africa earlier this month, scoring 228 off 76 runs. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli led India to a 2-1 win over England last month, scoring 129 off 43 runs. A dip in the Indian captain’s form has helped Babar climb the steep ladder.

After Zaheer Abbas (1983), Javed Miandad (1988) and Mohammad Yousuf (2003), Babar now joins an elite list of Pakistani batsmen to achieve the top spot in the ODI format.

The achievement means Pakistan cricket, which in recent decades has been in the shadow of its illustrious neighbor and ever-familiar India, has struggled to reinvent its pristine past.

Worse, before the dreaded coronavirus dawned on mankind, a generation of Pakistani stars played their home matches in empty stands, amid sweltering heat overseas as administrators chanted slogans to convince the world it was safe.

Pakistan has seen very little international cricket on their soil since the 2009 terrorist attack on behalf of Sri Lanka in Lahore. It is not easy for any team to keep pace in international cricket by playing very little at home.

Apart from the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016 and their stints in England (Pakistan briefly became the number one Test team) and 2017 (winning the Champions Trophy), Pakistan have had little to celebrate in recent years. most favorite game

Defeating the odds, Babar’s masterful batsmanship is now a new chapter in the history of cricket. He is an inspiration to many batsmen around the world, and his success has now drawn comparisons with his Indian counterpart Kohli, who has broken boundaries in the game.

The comparison finds the basis of their set benchmarks in terms of consistency through their conventional batting style. It’s not just their run count; It’s also about their alluring style that makes jaws drop.

At the turn of the decade, Kohli won the ICC Player of the Decade award. Six years younger than Kohli, Babar can repeat the feat by owning this decade.