Shoaib Malik, Misbah Ul Haq explain why Virat Kohli is better than Babar Azam in T20Is

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam: (Image Source: Twitter)

There’s no denying that Virat Kohli is back to his top form. With two back-to-back half-centuries for India in the 20-20 World Cup, Virat Kohli has announced his arrival on the biggest stage.

The former Indian skipper played a match-winning knock of 82 runs in 53 balls against Pakistan and followed it with an unbeaten 62 off 44 against the Netherlands. Virat Kohli’s heroics have helped India secure the top position in the Group 2 table.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have played two matches but are yet to win a game in the tournament. Pakistan’s failure has a lot to do with Babar Azam’s poor run of form with the bat. He got out for a golden duck in the match against India and scored only 4 runs against Zimbabwe.

Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former cricketers, Shoaib Malik and Misbah Ul Haq have criticized Babar Azam's performance in T20Is by comparing him with Virat Kohli.

Misbah Ul Haq highlighted Virat Kohli’s ability to play at a higher strike rate as he spends more and more time at the crease, which Babar Azam hasn't been able to do.

"The biggest difference I can see at the moment is Virat Kohli becomes a different player when he starts facing more and more deliveries. His strike rate only goes up and he becomes a very dangerous player after playing 15-16 balls. Babar Azam needs to do the same thing because we have often seen Babar’s strike rate go down after the first six overs. For match-winning innings, you need to do it like Virat.” said the former Pakistan skipper.

Shoaib Malik, on the other hand, pointed Virat Kohli’s ability to play big shots where the fielders are not stationed.

“The difference between both of the class batters is Virat Kohli knows how to play in pockets. It’s a big difference, Virat only plays his shot where there are no fielders, he won’t look to hit a six where a fielder is standing. It shows he has trained a lot and worked on his shot to execute it to perfection. That’s why his success rate is so high.” Malik said.

India are slated to play their next match against South Africa on Sunday.