'He is Pakistan's number one player, but...' - Former Pakistan allrounder explains area where Babar Azam isn't as good as Virat Kohli 

Babar Azam & Virat Kohli (Image credit: Twitter)

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are arguably two of the finest cricketers who are often compared on the basis of their batting style and record breaking. While the former Indian captain has become a global superstar over the years with his stunning batting performances and remains one of the greats of the sport, the current Pakistan skipper showed his mettle by doing wonders for his team in the early stages of his career.

Amid intense debate among cricket fans to determine who is the best between Virat and Babar, a former Pakistani cricketer gave his opinion on the same. In an interview with the Times of India, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq called India's batting stalwart an "outstanding player" and explained why he ranks him above Babar.

Every country has one player like them: Razzaq

While acknowledging his countryman as the current best player in the world, Razzaq also highlighted the fact that Babar's fitness is not good as Kohli's and suggested that he work on it more.

"Virat is an outstanding and fantastic player. The best part is that he takes his team along. His intent is always positive. He utilises his skills very well. The main thing is that his fitness is world-class. Babar Azam's fitness is not like that of Virat Kohli's. Babar needs to work more on his fitness. Babar is Pakistan's number one player. Babar is in fact the world number 1 batter (ODIs). Be it in any format of the game, Test, ODI, or T20I, he has been consistently performing well. Every country has one player like them (Virat and Babar)," he said.

Mentioning the names of two other legendary cricketers of India and Pakistan, the 43-year-old also asked fans to refrain from such comparisons as both are excellent in their own way.

"We don't need to compare them. It's like asking, who is better - Kapil Dev or Imran Khan? These comparisons are not good. Kohli is a good player in India. Similarly, Babar Azam is a good player in Pakistan. Kohli is a world-class player, Babar is too. But Kohli's fitness is way better than Babar's," he opined.