Babar Azam has potential to be better than Virat Kohli, comments Ramiz Raja

Former Pakistan batsman Ramiz Raja revealed that his country’s Babar Azam has the potential to surpass the Indian skipper Virat Kohli in terms of scoring runs. While Babar Azam has found himself at the top of the rankings in T20 batsmen list, it is Virat Kohli who is in the top of three lists of batsmen in both Test and ODI cricket. 

Despite his T20I form, the Pakistani batsman has had its work cut out in the other formats. However, since the start of the year, his form has rather been a positive sign for the national team. In the 50-over format in 2019, Babar has scored 1092 runs at an average of 60.6. This year, in Tests, he averages 143, having been unbeaten on 143 in the only Test he played against Bangladesh. 

“He has the potential to even beat Virat Kohli but he needs to free up [his mind] and not think about losing. As soon as he does that and thinks about scoring runs and winning, he will remain a great player for a very long time,” Ramiz was as quoted by Cricket Pakistan, reported Hindustan Times. 

While the comparison looks highly ambitious, Babar is looking to cut down the gap between the two, scoring runs in all formats. Raja believes that only if the dressing room environment becomes encouraging and enraging, the right-hander will be able to score runs. 

“For Babar Azam, sky is the limit. Until and unless he gets the environment which is encouraging and engaging, he won’t be able to live up to his potential,” he further added.