Babar Azam's calmness gives him an edge over 'aggressive' Virat Kohli: Saqlain Mushtaq

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are currently regarded as one of the best batsmen in international cricket. While Kolhi has been dominating the international stage for quite a while now, Babar has slowly paved his way to becoming a world-class batsman since his national debut. While there are various opinions over Babar’s comparison with Kohli, there’s no doubt that the Pakistan stalwart has a bright future ahead.

Both Kohli and Babar are an integral part of the elite list of modern-day greats. However, talking their on-field attitude into consideration, former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq believes that Babar holds an edge over Kohli in terms of their behaviour on the field. Mushtaq lauded Babar for his run-scoring spree but said that it’s unfair to compare him with Kohli.

“Both are great players, with a great technique, and are mentally very strong. They have the hunger and passion to score lots of runs,” said Mushtaq in an exclusive interview to Cricket Pakistan.

“Kohli is more aggressive while Babar is humble. Babar’s calmness gives him an edge over Virat Kohli if we look at what sports science teaches us. But comparing Babar with Kohli is unfair because the latter has been performing for a very long time, all over the world,” he added.

Saqlain Mushtaq also revealed his favourite spinners across all formats

The inventor of ‘doosra’, Saqlain Mushtaq also revealed his favourite spinners in Test as well as limited-overs format. “In the longer version, I think Nathon Lyon is the best spinner in the world as he has performed against the majority of the top sides including India and Pakistan,” he said.

“Ashwin is also a good bowler but in home conditions. In limited-overs cricket, Kuldeep Yadav is a really good spinner and he is well educated in a cricketing sense. Shakib Al Hasan is a very clever bowler as well because I have seen him closely while working with Bangladesh,” added the Pakistan veteran.

Meanwhile, he chose Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan as his picks from Pakistan. Saqlain said that Shadab has a lot of potential and termed Yasir as a ‘world-class’ bowler.

“In Pakistan, Shadab has a lot of potential and I think he can also be effective in Test cricket as well. Yasir Shah is a world-class spinner as well which is evident from his track record,” revealed Mushtaq.

Here’s the video: