Babar Azam or KL Rahul? Brad Hogg picks the better batsman between the two

Babar Azam is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen in the world. In the last year or so, he has firmly established himself as one of the world’s leading batsmen across the three formats. At a time when Pakistan cricket is struggling to produce world-class batsmen, Babar has turned out to be an exception. In fact, he has been so consistent that he has been drawing comparisons with none other than Virat Kohli right from the time he broke into international cricket.

In ODIs, he averages more than 54 while in T20Is, he has an average of more than 50 while in Tests he averages over 45. As far as rankings are concerned, he is in the top five of all three formats which proves how consistent Babar has been across formats. He has been the batting mainstay of the Pakistan team since making his debut in 2016.

During Pakistan’s dismal tour of Australia, he was one of the very few positives for his team as he showed his class in testing conditions. In this year’s PSL which was called off before the knockouts due to the coronavirus pandemic, Babar was the leading run-scorer. His performances helped Karachi Kings progress ahead of the league stage.

Last year, PCB rewarded Babar for his consistency by naming him as the T20I captain of Pakistan after Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked. Media reports have suggested that he is also set to take over as the ODI captain later this year. Having proved himself as a batsman, Babar will be keen to show his leadership skills too in the coming days.

Babar Azam has always drawn comparisons with Virat Kohli

While Babar Azam has always drawn comparisons with Virat Kohli, one of the fans recently decided to compare him with India star KL Rahul. Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg was interacting with his followers on Twitter when a Pakistani fan asked him to pick the best between Babar and Rahul. In reply, Hogg wrote: “Hmmm, Babar.”

Rahul has been in stunning form too. Unlike Babar, the India star has struggled for consistency but has shown remarkable consistency in the last six months or so. In fact, he has overshadowed Virat Kohli in the last few series with his remarkable wicketkeeping expeditions and performances with his willow.