'Babar's calmness gives him an edge over Virat Kohli': Saqlain Mushtaq

Azam has been compared with Kohli a lot in recent times due to their consistent performances with the bat and ability to lead the team from the front.

Lahore: In the last week or so, several cricketers have compared two of the world’s top batsmen - Virat Kohli and Babar Azam closely. This week, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq jumped on the bandwagon and made an interesting note regarding the two International stars.

While he complimented the Indian skipper for his aggression, he revealed that Babar Azam’s humbleness gives him an edge. However, he also noted that it is unfair to compare the two, given that Kohli has more experience in contrast with the Pakistan skipper’s time in the world stage.

Babar Azam

"Both are great players, with a great technique, and are mentally very strong. They have the hunger and passion to score lots of runs," Mushtaq was quoted as saying by a leading Pakistani sports publication.

"Kohli is more aggressive while Babar is humble. Babar's calmness gives him edge over Virat Kohli if we look at what sports science teaches us.

"But comparing Babar with Kohli is unfair because the latter has been performing for a very long time, all over the world," he added.

Virat Kohli

Azam has been compared with Kohli a lot in recent times due to their consistent performances with the bat and ability to lead the team from the front.

Saqlain was recently appointed as Head of International Player Development as part of the Pakistan Cricket Board's High Performance Centre's restructuring.

According to a PCB press release, he will be responsible for identifying, developing and preparing players so that they could go on to become world-class cricketers.

"This is a big responsibility for me and I will try to ensure that I leave no box unchecked. Identification of problems and implementation of their solutions will be my top priority while working with PCB," Saqlain said.