Babar Azam "Probably The Best Batter In The World Across Formats": Virat Kohli

27.08.2022 - 15:35 sports.ndtv.com

Star India batter Virat Kohli opened up about his equation with Pakistan captain Babar Azam ahead of the highly awaited clash between the two arch-rivals in the Asia Cup on Sunday.

Kohli revealed he first met Babar during the 2019 World Cup and said the Pakistan star always treated him with "regard and respect", and that has not changed despite him growing in stature.

Kohli hailed Babar as "the top batsman in the world across format" currently and also said that he is the kind of player world cricket needs. "The first interaction I had with him was the 2019 World Cup after the game in Manchester.

Him and Imad (Wasim). Imad I have known since Under-19 cricket, we have played against each other and Imad said Babar wanted to have a chat," Kohli said in a chat with Star Sports. "We sat down and spoke about the game.

cricket 2022 Virat Kohli Babar Azam Star Sports Asia Cup Star India Manchester India Pakistan

After smashing his 71st century in international cricket, Virat Kohli credited his wife Anushka Sharma for having his back, especially when nothing was going right for the star batter. Kohli, who had not scored a century in nearly three years, reached triple figures against Afghanistan in the ongoing Asia Cup. He slammed an unbeaten 122 off 61 balls, hitting 12 fours and six sixes. Sharing his views on Kohli's post-match quote on his wife Anushka, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar hailed the power couple.

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India star batter Virat Kohli ended his century drought, reaching the three-figure mark against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 match in Dubai. Kohli smashed an unbeaten 122 of 61, the highest score by a batter in T20Is for India, as India posted a mammoth total of 212/2. This was Kohli's 71st century in international, and his first since November 2019. As Kohli scored his maiden T20I century, people from all walks of life took to Twitter to hail the 33-year-old batter.

Babar Azam No Longer World's No. 1 T20I Batter. This Star Replaces Him In ICC Rankings

India captain Rohit Sharma gained three slots to be at 14th while Suryakumar Yadav dropped a place to fourth among batters in the ICC T20I rankings issued on Wednesday. Rohit (612 rating points) climbed three spots after scoring a 41-ball 72 against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup Super 4 match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Topping the batting chart is Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan (815 rating points), who has displaced his teammate and captain Babar Azam (794 rating points).

"There Is Respect, He Is Always Keen To Learn": Virat Kohli On Babar Azam

Cricket fans got to witness another nail-biting encounter between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup, Super 4 match on Sunday. The match turned out to be a forgetful one for the Indian side, as they faced a five-wicket defeat against their arch-rivals. Despite the heated intensity of the game and so much hype, the players of both countries still carry out a friendly relationship between them, which always lifts up the spirit of the sport. On Sunday, India star batter Virat Kohli backed Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and called him a "talented player" who is always keen to learn.

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A superb 50 by Mohammed Rizwan and cameo by Mohammad Nawaz powered Pakistan to a five-wicket win in a last-ball thriller Super Four clash.

"Need To Get Out Of Losing Mindset": Former Pakistan Captain On Babar Azam's Side

India and Pakistan will square off against each other for the second time in the ongoing Asia Cup as both teams battle it out in the Super 4s stage at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. India had gotten the better of Pakistan when these two teams met earlier in the group stage. It was Hardik Pandya in that game who displayed an all-round game to take Rohit Sharma's side over the line by five wickets.