Asia Cup 2023: Former Cricketers Analyze Similarities and Differences Between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam

Former cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Tom Moody discussed about the similartites and differences between mordern-day greats Virat Kohli and Babar Azam ahead of the Asia Cup 2023, scheduled to start on August 30.

The rivalry between Kohli and Babar has always formed part of the cultural intrigue of India vs Pakistan contests since the latter's arrival on the international stage. And that has sparked debates among fans and cricket experts.

During an exclusive conversation on the Star Sports show "Game Plan," former Indian cricketer Manjrekar and former Australian cricketer Moody engaged in a discussion about the contrasting qualities of Kohli and Babar in the 50-over format game.

Manjrekar highlighted the exceptional abilities of both Kohli and Babar, emphasizing that comparisons to established players like Sachin Tendulkar are inevitable but sometimes unfair. He commended their consistency and how they set a benchmark for rising stars to aspire to.

"Absolutely, and we can expect that to happen again. Just one thing that you know people like Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have had to deal with that they've had long careers and they sort of have spanned over 10-15 years," Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

"And anytime there's been a rising star, he's been compared to a guy who's been in the race for a long time. So sometimes it can be a little unfair but the greatness of these two guys is that they maintain that standard that the best performance of a rising player is equated with it."

Furthermore, the former Indian batter expressed his anticipation of seeing both players perform in the Asia Cup, particularly highlighting Babar's potential impact in the upcoming tournament.

"Yes, both very good players. One obviously in his prime younger but coming to these kind of platform we want to say Virat Kohli and see with the format that we have here not the T20 format, Asia Cup this time round you might just see a bit Babar Azam and maybe show his place as well," Manjrekar added.

Moody, on the other hand, echoed this sentiment, drawing parallels between Kohli and Babar. He praised their similar playing styles, authentic cricket shots, astute game reading abilities, and proficiency as chasers.

"I think absolutely he is. He (Babar) does remind me very much of Kohli, the way he goes about his business. He plays authentic cricket shots. He seems to understand, read the game very well, which Kohli has done for over a decade," Moody said on Star Sports.

"He is a good chaser as well like Kohli has proven to be over many many years. So, there's so much likeness between the two and I wouldn't go as far as saying that Virat is gonna have a better Asia Cup than Babar, but they both can have equal pressure on them and it's gonna be a delight to watch them both bat because they are box office."

While he refrained from predicting who would outperform whom in the Asia Cup, the former Australian cricketer emphasized that both players would face equal pressure and provide captivating performances.

Additionally, Moody shared his thoughts on Babar's role as captain of the Pakistan team for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. He acknowledged the challenges due to intense scrutiny from experts and fans alike. However, he expressed confidence in Babar's ability to handle these pressures given his growing experience as a leader.

"Well, the captaincy for any captain in any Asian team is always a very challenging one. The microscope is very much on every single captain and every single move and suddenly you've got so many experts out there when you do make a move that maybe not be the right move at the time," Moody added.

"But I think that he's still dealing with the growing pressures of captaincy there's no question of that. So, you know, he'll only continue to get better."

Moreover, with experienced players surrounding him who have also held leadership positions in franchise or domestic cricket teams, Moody believed that Babar could draw upon their support as strong pillars of leadership.

"He is also got around him. I mentioned the experience of this Pakistan side now he's also got a lot of experience around him and a lot of players that have been in captaincy roles whether that be in franchise cricket or in their domestic cricket, so he's got a lot of strong leadership pillars around which I'm sure he'll draw upon."