• Source:JND

Asia Cup 2025: Amid a long hundred drought and struggles faced by Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam, ex-Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad emphasised that the unnecessary comparisons with star India batter Virat Kohli have put immense pressure on Babar and how that has affected his performances.

Shehzad, who had earlier slammed Babar's captaincy skills and the way he has performed for Pakistan, reckoned that comparisons like this can affect youngsters.

“When everything was going well, you were running campaigns comparing players. Now that the performances are not coming, you are saying, ‘Don’t compare two players. ’ Why not? Virat Kohli’s comparison cannot be made with anyone in the world. He is a legend of this generation, a role model," Shehzad told The Times of India.

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“You cannot compare him even with MS Dhoni. Dhoni may have been a great captain, but as a batter, cricketer, and athlete, Kohli stands alone. No one should be compared with anyone because it’s unfair and it adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam," he added.

After Babar's performances reached new limits every day between June 2019 and August 2023, his grit and determination helped him become the country's next big player. He soon began to be compared with star Indian batter Kohli, who was going through a lean patch at that time.

A few die-hard fans and journalists from their country went out to say that Babar was much better than Kohli.

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Although this wasn't his fault, after being compared to Kohli, he was bound to be put under the same scrutiny and pressure. It should be noted here that Babar Azam has been continuously slammed by his fans, as it has been 72 innings since he last scored a hundred across formats.

The last time he had scored a hundred was against Nepal way back in the 2023 Asia Cup. He might have smashed 18 half-centuries after playing in 64 innings during this period, but his average was just 31.45. He had scored 47,0 and nine runs during their humiliating 2-1 ODI loss against West Indies.