NEW DELHI: The comparisons between Pakistan batter Babar Azam and India’s batting stalwart Virat Kohli have persisted for a long time. Whenever Babar finds form, scores runs or leads his team to victory, comparisons with Kohli flood social media, especially among Pakistan fans. However, former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has dismissed these comparisons, saying the Pakistan star is overhyped.“Dekhiye, achhe player hain, isme koi shak nahi hai. Main personally unko kaafi like bhi karta hoon. Lekin mujhe lagta hai ki unko unki had se zyada hype mil gayi. Unko itna chadha diya gaya ki unki comparison Virat Kohli se hone lagi, unko ‘king’ bola jane laga [Look, he is a good player, there’s no doubt about that. I personally like him a lot. But I feel he has been hyped beyond his limits. He was elevated so much that comparisons with Virat Kohli began, and he started being called ‘king’],” Jaffer said in a video posted on his social media handle.
“Jab aapko baar-baar Virat Kohli se compare kiya jata hai, media aapko ‘king’ bulata hai, toh pressure automatically aata hai. Mujhe lagta hai kahin na kahin unhone try kiya Virat jaisa banne ka – ya us tarah perform karne ka jaise Virat ne Indian team ke liye kiya. Lekin Virat, Virat hai – is generation ke greatest players me se ek. Ye unnecessary comparison unpe pressure banata gaya [When you are constantly compared to Virat Kohli and the media calls you ‘king’, pressure automatically builds. I feel that somewhere he tried to become like Virat – or tried to perform the way Virat has for the Indian team. But Virat is Virat – one of the greatest players of this generation. These unnecessary comparisons kept adding pressure on him],” he added.Babar had been going through a lean patch, struggling for runs, but made a strong comeback by scoring a century for Peshawar Zalmi against Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. He brought up his hundred in just 52 balls.Babar last represented Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he endured a poor run with the bat – one of the reasons behind Pakistan’s disappointing campaign in the tournament. He scored just 91 runs in six matches at an average of 22.75 and a strike rate of 112.34, as Pakistan failed to progress beyond the Super Eights stage.When asked about the reasons behind Babar’s dip despite being a highly skilful batter and a cricketing icon in Pakistan, Jaffer said: “Mere hisaab se do cheezein thi – ek toh overhype aur comparison, aur doosra captaincy. Captain ke taur par wo us tarah ki team build nahi kar paaye jaisi karni chahiye thi. Unke paas chances the, team finals tak bhi gayi – World Cup final, Asia Cup final – lekin wo Pakistan cricket ko next level par consistently nahi le ja paaye [In my view, there were two reasons – one was overhype and comparisons, and the other was captaincy. As a captain, he couldn’t build the kind of team he should have. He had opportunities, the team even reached finals – World Cup final, Asia Cup final – but he couldn’t consistently take Pakistan cricket to the next level].”“Aaj bhi, without a doubt, wo Pakistan ke best batters me se ek hain. Talent aur class dono hai unme. Bas expectations aur pressure ka handling thoda better hota, toh picture aur alag ho sakti thi [Even today, without a doubt, he is one of Pakistan’s best batters. He has both talent and class. It’s just that if he had handled expectations and pressure a bit better, the picture could have been very different],” Jaffer said.
