Nasser Hussain Predicts Massive 2024 For Virat Kohli And Babar Azam

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Former England captain Nasser Hussain has predicted a massive year for an Indian superstar and former Pakistan skipper, who he believes will be the ones that will have a great 2024.

In a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the former England batter Nasser revealed his picks to be India's Virat Kohli and Pakistan's Babar Azam.

The pair have often been compared, and the former England skipper believes the duo will have a huge role to play for their respective countries in the next year, which will also include a T20 World Cup.

Kohli had a good 2023, scoring over 2000 runs, including eight centuries and 10 fifties across the ODI and Test formats in the international stage. He also broke several records during the year, including the one for most ODI centuries and most runs in a single ODI World Cup.

"My first one is a megastar and there is no doubt about it. Virat Kohli. Obviously, he had a fantastic 2023 and World Cup. Amid all the records he broke and the attention, we did not focus on how well he was batting," said Hussain in the video.

"Technically, I have never seen Virat bat as well like that. The sound of the bat, that innings against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, I can name about five innings where he was getting in a good position. That is a good sign for Virat, India and Virat fans. It means that he is in a good mental space and his game is in good order."

Kohli, who did not feature in any T20I in 2023, scored 671 runs in 8 Tests at an average of 55.61, with 2 centuries and 2 fifties in 12 innings. In 27 ODIs, he scored 1377 runs at an average of 72.47 and a strike rate of 99.13, with 6 centuries and 8 fifties in just 24 innings.

Meanwhile, Babar, who played across all three formats, managed to score over 1300 runs. But his decent showing with the bat in ODIs was overshadowed by his poor display in the red ball. He also stepped down from captaincy after the ODI World Cup exit.

Talking about Babar, Nasser said that the Pakistan side needs their former skipper to score big in the year which will also see the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 being held in the West Indies and the USA in June. Pakistan reached the finals last time in 2022 but lost to England.

"Another one, they are often compared. Babar Azam. I think it is a massive year for him and Pakistan. He has given up captaincy, that may be the weight off his shoulders," said Nasser.

"The biggest thing he can do for Pakistan cricket is get shed load of runs. They need him to get runs. There will be a T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. They got to the finals last time. They will need their ex-skipper to put in a real performance."

In five Tests this year, Babar scored just 204 runs at an average of 22.66. In 25 ODIs, he scored 1065 runs at an average of 46.30, with 2 centuries and 10 fifties, while in five T20Is, Babar scored 130 runs in four innings at an average of 43.33, with the best score of 101*.