T20 World Cup: Babar 'technically' better than Kohli

• Inzamam says Babar's best is yet to come.
• He believes Babar will break all cricketing records.
• Kohli and Babar are great batters, Inzamam says.

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq feels Pakistan’s captain and batter Babar Azam is technically better than his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli.

In an interview with Geo News ahead of Pakistan’s high-voltage T20 World Cup clash against India, which is slated for Sunday, the former captain said that he believes Babar can claim all the batting records to his name in days to come.

“The best thing I like about him is his hunger for runs and eagerness to score big every time; I haven’t seen such hunger in any other player. Another positive thing about his style is that Babar is always focused on his game,” Inzamam said, who has scored over 20,000 international runs for Pakistan across all formats.

“I see him breaking several cricketing records,” he said.

When asked to compare Babar and Kohli — the two top batters of this era — Inzamam said both the players have their own class and own style of batting and scoring runs.

But the former Pakistan captain expressed his views in favour of Pakistan’s current skipper and termed him technically better.

“If you look at the cricket Babar has played so far and compare it with Kohli's numbers in his first few years, you’ll find Babar having an edge over Kohli,” he said.

However, he added that no questions could be raised on Kohli's performance for India.

“I believe both are great batters,” the former captain said.

Replying to a question, Inzamam said that Babar’s best is yet to come and the Pakistani captain has yet to achieve his peak.

“A batter’s peak starts after he crosses 30, only then he gets to his peak and gives his best. Babar has yet to enter his 30s and he has already achieved a lot. I believe that his best and his peak is yet to come and he’ll serve Pakistan for a longer period and name almost every batting record to his credit,” Inzamam said.

He said that both the captains will be under pressure on Sunday during the World Cup match between Pakistan and India.

Explaining the reason, Inzamam said that Kohli has not produced big performances in several matches and he’s also playing his last tournament as captain, which is why the Indian skipper will be under pressure.

“Usually both the captains are under pressure in an India-Pakistan World Cup game, but this time Kohli will be under more pressure than Babar. Firstly, he’s leading the favourite side, so naturally, he will be under pressure. Secondly, he has not produced big innings for two years, and then thirdly, this is his last tournament as captain. So, there are many reasons that would keep Kohli under pressure in this match,” the former Pakistan captain said.