Fans are really excited for India and Pakistan to face each other in the Asia Cup 2023. This match is considered one of the biggest rivalries in cricket history. Fans from both countries are getting ready for the match and are already talking about the teams. They especially like to compare the top players Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Even though people are closely comparing the two batters, both players actually really respect each other. They’ve openly shown this respect multiple times. Just recently, Virat Kohli talked about the first time he met Babar during a match between India and Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup.
Virat Kohli on Babar Azam
“The first interaction I had with him [Babar] 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,” Kohli said.
Kohli also mentioned that Babar has considered him the best batter in all formats of cricket right from the beginning.
“I saw a lot of regard and respect from him from day one, and that hasn’t changed. 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.
Kohli and Babar are frequently compared because they’re the top batters in their own teams. During the time from 2020 to 2022, Kohli faced some challenges with his batting performance. Meanwhile, Babar moved ahead of him in the rankings for batting in all three forms of cricket. In 2021, the captain of the Pakistan team even became the best batter in ODIs, taking over the spot that Kohli used to hold.
Meanwhile, Kohli regained form after not scoring a century for more than 1000 days until the Asia Cup in 2022. Then, he played an amazing match against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022, helping India win. After that, Kohli scored centuries in all three formats and is now ready to play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup and World Cup. The competition between Babar and Kohli will happen again as India and Pakistan play multiple games in the next three months.
