Babar Azam needs consistency in Test cricket to be up their with the likes of Virat Kohli: Nasser Hussain

One of the biggest debates in recent times in the cricket fraternity is who among Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Babar Azam is the best batsman of the modern era. Since his debut in 2015 against Zimbabwe, he has been phenomenal in the willow collecting more than 7000 international runs.

This has also resulted in talks regarding the inclusion of Azam in the Fab-4 which includes the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. Former England skipper Naseer Hussain recently opined on who among Virat and Azam is a better batsman.

Speaking to a news portal, Hussain reckoned that Babar has proved his mettle in limited-overs format and is among the Top 5 in ICC’s Men batting ranking in both ODIs and T20Is. However, the batsman is yet to prove himself in the longest format of the game to be of the same stature as the Indian captain.

Though Nasser admitted that the Pakistan captain showed character while playing in a Test match in England, he needs to be consistent for a longer period of time. “Babar has what it takes to become one of the greats. In white-ball cricket he’s up there with the best of them. He’s up near the top of the rankings in T20Is, and in fifty over cricket he is exceptional too.

He did OK in the Test series against England bearing in mind England is not an easy place to come and play Test cricket. He just needs that consistency in Test cricket to be up there with the likes of Virat Kohli. Babar’s done that for 6 to 9 months so far, he just needs to be consistent for a longer period of time.” Hussain told PakPassion.com.

Babar Azam is an aesthetically pleasing player, says Nasser Hussain

Further in the interaction, the veteran pointed out a technical flaw in Babar Azam’s batting which reminded him of Kohli, when he was in the early days of his career. Hussain also showered praises on the 26-year-old saying he is an aesthetically pleasing player. “He [Babar] does have a slight technical problem in the area just outside off stump, a little bit like Kohli had when he first came to England and he was found out.

“Babar’s a wonderful player and batting isn’t just about the amount of runs you get, it’s about the way you get them and when Babar’s batting well he’s so pleasing on the eye. He’s an aesthetically pleasing player. He’s an outstanding player, make no mistake and he’s just got to make sure that if he wants to be a great of the game and he’s pushing that, and for that you have to be consistent all over the world and get runs in all conditions.” Nasser concluded.