Babar Azam as good as Virat Kohli? Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has his say

Babar finished among the top three in the Test series, scoring 221 runs in three matches, including a couple of half-centuries. He is also on top of the scorer’s list in the ongoing T20I series with 128 runs from two innings.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur believes young batsman Babar Azam will be one of the top batsmen in the near future. However, he concedes that he jumped the gun a little too soon when he predicted his young ward would be as good as Virat Kohli.

Pakistan's Babar Azam plays a shot during the second T20 cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan at The Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg on February 3, 2019 (AFP)

“I think he will be in the top five [batsmen] of the world very soon across all formats. I thought I was a bit quick off the gun when I said two years ago that he would be almost as good as Virat Kohli but it has taken him a while to show that class,” Arthur was quoted as saying by Express Tribune.

“But if you watched him in the nets couple of years ago, he was a young boy who has developed into a young man, he’s got stronger and fitter and his game gets better and better all the time,” he added.

It has been a disappointing tour of South Africa for Pakistan, but Babar emerged as one of the biggest positives. He finished among the top three in the Test series, scoring 221 runs in three matches, including a couple of half-centuries. He is also on top of the scorer’s list in the ongoing T20I series with 128 runs from two innings.

“I have never doubted Babar Azam, he keeps on getting better and better and the exciting thing for us is that we haven’t seen the best of Azam yet. He has been unbelievable on this tour. There have been question marks around Azam outside the sub-continent but I think he’s put those to rest now,” the coach added.