One of the most trending topics for debate in cricket right now is Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam. Some fans think Virat is the best, while the others believe Babar has overtaken him. Former West Indies player Ian Bishop recently gave his views on this topic.
According to Bishop, Babar Azam is on the road to greatness. He mentioned that he does not use the word ‘great’ loosely and wants a bigger sample size before bestowing the greatness on a player. Bishop opined that Babar is inching closer towards Virat Kohli rapidly, especially in the 50-over format of cricket.
Shedding some light on Babar Azam’s numbers in ODI cricket, he has scored 4,442 runs in 87 innings at an average of 59.23. He has smashed 19 half-centuries and 17 centuries in the 50-over format. Speaking to Cricwick, Ian Bishop said:
“It has to be a bigger sample size to bestow greatness on a player, but his average, as we speak now, (is) on the cusp on 60 with 17 ODI hundreds.”
Ian Bishop thinks Babar Azam has almost overtaken Virat Kohli as the ultimate uber 50-over batter
During the same chat, Ian Bishop opined that Babar Azam is on the road to overtake Virat Kohli as the uber batter in 50-over cricket. For the record, Azam has scored 457 runs in six ODI innings this year. His batting average has been 91.40, with his strike being more than 95.
On the other side, Virat Kohli has aggregated 142 runs in six ODI innings of 2022. He has registered two half-centuries and two ducks this year. His highest ODI score is 65, while his batting strike rate is in the range of 75.
“He (Babar Azam) has almost overtaken his next door neighbour, the great Virat Kohli, in terms of the ultimate uber fifty-over batsman,” Ian Bishop concluded.
