Cricket News Asia Cup 2023

'One King praising Another King' - Fans overwhelmed as former Indian skipper Virat Kohli praises Babar Azam, recalls their first meeting

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam will be playing against each other, for their respective teams, India and Pakistan, in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023.

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Akshay
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Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has praised current Pakistan skipper and batting superstar Babar Azam, recalling their first interaction in international cricket. Notably, they have played very less against each other, but both batters are currently considered the modern-day batting greats in the current generation of cricketers.

The former Indian skipper also acknowledged and called Babar Azam probably the top and finest batter in all the formats of the game. Kohli also said he also has big respect and regard for the star Lahore batter.

"The first interaction I had with him (Babar Azam) was during the 2019 (ODI) World Cup after the game in Manchester. I've known Imad (Wasim) since the Under-19 World Cup, and he said Babar wanted to have a chat. We sat down and spoke about the game. I saw a lot of regard and respect from him from day one, and that hasn't changed," said Kohli to Star Sports while speaking about Babar Azam.

“He's probably the top batsman in the world across formats” – Virat Kohli for Babar Azam

"Regardless of the fact he's probably the top batsman in the world across formats, and rightly so. Performs so consistently and I've always enjoyed watching him play," he added.

Now, Babar and Kohli will be in action against each other for their respective teams, Pakistan and India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Both teams will play this match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy of Sri Lanka on the 2nd of September next month.

Following that, both teams are also set to lock horns with each other in the highly anticipated and upcoming group stage match in the ODI World Cup 2023, in India. The high-octane World Cup clash will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on the 14th of October.

Returning back to Kohli’s statement about Babar Azam, the former’s remarks for the men in green’s skipper attracted a lot of praising reactions and remarks from cricket fans in both the countries, India and Pakistan. Fans praised both stars for having a sense of mutual respect for each other.

Here’s how fans reacted:

 

Virat Kohli Babar Azam