Comparisons with Virat Kohli have been a stumbling block for many batsmen in world cricket but Pakistan\u2019s Babar Azam has embraced the challenge wholeheartedly and will carry his country\u2019s hopes at the World Cup.
\nPakistan head coach Mickey Arthur first mentioned Azam, the world\u2019s top-ranked T20 international batsman, in the same breath as Indian skipper Kohli early last year, based on the 24-year-old\u2019s potential across formats.
\nAzam\u2019s international career is just over 100 matches old, but his prowess with the bat has already broken several records.
\nHe is the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 T20I runs, taking 26 innings to get there and dethroning Kohli in the process.
\nHe also reached 1,000 ODI runs in 21 innings, a record he shared with an elite group of players, including West Indies great Viv Richards and England power-hitter Kevin Pietersen, until his Pakistan team-mate Fakhar Zaman broke it last year.
\nAzam\u2019s classy stroke-making has provided the platform for his record-breaking run spree, and he often single-handedly drives Pakistan to competitive totals in sluggish conditions in the United Arab Emirates, the national team\u2019s adopted home.
\n\u201cWe have some serious batsmen in our team but he has the ability to be as good as anyone in the world,\u201d Arthur said of the right-handed batsman. \u201cIf he\u2019s getting us a 100, we\u2019re comfortable we have the batsmen around him to get 300-320.
\n\u201cOver the last two years, his strike rate is around 80 and he knows he needs to increase that, as do some of the other batsmen and we\u2019ve spoken about that.\u201d
\nPakistan have come up short since the start of 2019, beaten by South Africa, Australia and England. Some impressive totals on small grounds against England this month do not disguise the fact that the team needs more runs in the middle overs.
\nThat again encourages comparisons with Kohli, who has often had to hold a thin Indian middle order together and use every opportunity to score in the powerplays.
\nAzam is confident he can switch gears if the situation demands more aggression.
\n\u201cIf I can be number one in the world without power hitting, then I don\u2019t need power hitting,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when I need to, I utilise it well.
\n\u201cMy individual role is to take the innings as deep as I can and perform in a way that benefits the team most.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Comparisons with Virat Kohli have been a stumbling block for many batsmen in world cricket but Pakistan\u2019s Babar Azam has embraced the challenge wholeheartedly and will carry his country\u2019s hopes at the World Cup. Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur first mentioned Azam, the world\u2019s top-ranked T20 international batsman, in the same breath as Indian skipper […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n