Babar Azam should replicate Kohli’s aggressive persona on the field, opines Aamer Sohail
Legendary Pakistan batsman Aamer Sohail is of the opinion that Babar Azam must instill fear in the minds of his opponents with his attitude on the field and added that he could do so by replicating Virat Kohli. Sohail further noted that Kohli and Babar are exactly the same in the way they bat.
Known as the golden boy of Pakistan cricket, newly-appointed limited-overs skipper Babar Azam is widely regarded as the most talented batsman to emerge from Pakistan in the 21st century. A batsman who oozes class and grace, Azam has, thus far, done justice to his reputation and has had an incredible start to his international career, averaging over 45 in all three formats of the game.
Unsurprisingly, Azam’s prolific nature has seen him draw comparisons with Virat Kohli, with many considering the 25-year-old to be as good as the Indian skipper in terms of batting prowess. However, former Pakistan batsman Aamer Sohail noted something interesting and stated that he found Azam’s attitude to be quite similar to that of Kohli. Sohail, however, felt that Azam controls his emotions way too much and urged the newly-appointed skipper to be more aggressive on the field in order to intimidate his opponents.
“They both (Kohli and Azam) have quite similar attitude, have the will to perform, thought Virat Kohli looks to be quite aggressive on the field but Babar Azam looks to be calm and collected on the field. Maybe, Kohli is showing from outside that he is aggressive, but he is calm from inside, just to pose a fear in the bowler’s mind,” Sohail was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
“I feel Babar needs to bring his expressions on the field as well. He troubles bowlers with his batting, but if he brings attitude on the field, it will certainly help him in a longer run.”
Kohli and Azam, in general, are considered to be batsmen of the same prototype, for they are conventional stroke makers who seldom rely on power-hitting to score runs. Sohail, a craftsman during his time in international cricket, interestingly made a detailed comparison of the batting styles of the two prodigal cricketers and noted how they almost exactly mirrored each other in the way they scored their runs.
“The similarities between Virat and Babar is that they score over 40 per cent of runs from boundaries. They also hit really good drives, and they hit pull shots on front foot. They both punch the ball on the off-side slightly on the front foot. They sway a bit and push towards point and cover - this shot has been quite effective for them.
“They both guide the ball with a slightly-opened wrist towards the third man, especially in Test cricket - they both have been successful in this.”