Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli – A Detailed Comparison

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli is the hottest debate currently in the cricketing world. Every cricket fan, especially in the subcontinent, want to have a piece of it.

They are the two of the most liked modern cricketers in their respective countries. While Virat Kohli is a superstar with thousands of runs and so many international centuries to his name, Babar is slowly matching his stardom. Although he needs five more years of constant cricket to get close to what Virat has achieved so far, he has shown promise.

The main difference between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli is their seniority in the game. If we take statistical route, there cannot be a comparison between the two as Virat’s career spans a little over 13 years, while Babar does not have even half of that. Therefore, we will first compare their statistics format-wise, and then at various stages of their career.

Let’s go!

Born on October 15, 1995, Babar is currently just 25 years old. While Indian Test captain Virat Kohli was born on November 5, 1988, and is about 7 years older than Babar.

Debut

ODI Debut: Kohli made his debut on August 18, 2008, against Sri Lanka at the age of 20. On the flip side, Babar got his debut game seven years later against Zimbabwe on May 31, 2015, at the age of 21.

T20I Debut: Babar was lucky enough to make debuts in all three formats within a year. His T20I debut came in September 2016 against England. Kohli, on the other hand, waited two more years, for his T20I debut, which came in June 2010.

Test Debut: Interestingly, Babar got his Test debut two months five months later on October 13, 2016, against West Indies. But Kohli had to wait another three years before he could play his first Test against on June 20, against the same opponent, West Indies.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli statistics

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in Tests

As of today, Babar Azam has played 37 Test matches and has scored 2,461 runs at an average of 43.2 and a strike rate of 54.9. Virat’s Test records are staggering. In 98 Test matches, the Indian red-ball captain has 7,854 runs at an average of 50.34 and a strike rate of 56.27.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in ODIs

In ODI format, Babar Azam has 3,985 runs in 83 ODIs at an average of almost 60 and a strike rate of 89.6. Whereas, the former Indian ODI captain has over 12,169 runs to his name in this format. Virat has so far played 254 matches, more than three times what Babar has played so far. His batting average is 59.07, which is a tad shorter than Babar. But his strike rate of 93 is better than Babar’s.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli T20Is

Pakistan’ all-format captain has an even more phenomenal record in the shortest format. After 73 T20I matches, Babar has accumulated 2,620 runs at an average of 45.2 and a strike rate of 129.1. His numbers in T20Is are even better than his Test records. Strange!

Babar vs Kohli Centuries

In 98 Test matches, Kohli has 27 Test hundreds and as many fifties. Meanwhile, Babar Azam has 5 Test centuries and 19 half-centuries in just 37 Tests.

Kohli has 43 ODI tons and 62 fifties after 243 games. Babar has 14 hundreds and 17 fifties already after 83 matches in the 50-over format.

While Kohli is still searching for his first T20I hundred, Babar already has one. Both players have a chance to get more as plenty of cricket is to come in the year 2022.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli U19 careers

So far, Babar has shown he has the potential and the fire to become one of the best. He has already dethroned the Indian batting great from the ICC T20I and ODI batting charts and is slowly breaking his batting records. A lot has been said and written about the two international cricketers and their careers. However, very few people know how did the present stars fair during their Under19 careers.

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In this article, we will discuss Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli U19 careers.

Matches

Virat Kohli is one of India’s most successful cricketers, and he has been playing for 13 years. During his U19 career, Kohli played 28 under 19 matches from 2006 to 2009. Babar, on the other hand, played 36 U19 matches between 2009 and 2012. He has been one of the most successful cricketers ever and an inspiration for many other young players around him.

U19 centuries

Babar Azam is a batting prodigy. In 36 matches at under19 level, he scored three centuries; against West Indies, Scotland, and Srilanka. His ability to play fast-paced cricket on dry surfaces while scoring heavily has made him an asset for Pakistan in international-level games.

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The 33-year old batsman from India, Virat Kohli, is a sensation. He has only scored one century at Under 19 level matches against West Indies. It is not because of the lack of talent – as many people said that this batter would be a star like Tendulkar, which he proved later on. 

Babar Azam had scored more tons than Virat Kohli at under 19 levels.

Runs at the U19 level

One of the most talented Pakistani batsmen, Babar Azam, has scored 1271 runs in 36 matches at under 19 levels and averages an exceptional 38.51.

In contrast, Virat Kohli, who emerged as one of India’s top prospects for international cricket, scored 978 runs in 28 matches at under 19 levels with an average of 46.57.

He is already being touted by many experts to break all previous batting records in future stages.

Strike Rate

Virat Kohli, India’s batting maestro, has always been a very successful batsman at the domestic and international levels. His strike rate of 85.56 in Under 19 levels is much higher than Babar Azam, who had 73.85.

Captaincy

Virat Kohli was the best captain at under 19 level matches. 

He has a better record than his Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam and many other top players such as Steve Smith, Joe Root, or Kane Williamson.

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With all these talented cricketers coming up in years, who will be taking over from him?

Virat Kohli has been one of the most successful captains in world cricket, even at an early age. In 14 matches he got to lead his national side, Kohli achieved impressive 12 wins at under 19 levels and lost only once.

While Babar Azam captained Pakistan in 21 matches, winning 13 matches and losing 7. He did so well as captain that he led his country at such an impressive level for much larger ones too.