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Babar Azam has endured an inconsistent run of form in international cricket recently. The former Pakistan captain has often been compared with India stalwart Virat Kohli.
Babar Azam has been often compared to Virat Kohli, but former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has played down comparisons, calling it unnecessary. (AFP)Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer believes that Pakistan's Babar Azam is a very good cricketer, but that excessive comparisons with India stalwart Virat Kohli led to Babar's downfall.
Babar Azam has been out of form with the bat recently. He managed to score just 91 runs from four innings at the 2026 T20 World Cup, and was omitted from Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series.
Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has gone on to break several milestones and records during his international career. Kohli, who has retired from T20Is and Tests, continues to play ODIs.
Wasim Jaffer on Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam comparisons
“Babar is a good player, there is no doubt about it. He has also performed well. I obviously like him a lot as a player. But I just thought he was rated more than his limit.
"Virat Kohli se compare karna shuru kar diya. They (Pakistani fans and media) made him the king. And I think that was the reason (for his downfall)," Wasim Jaffer said in a video posted on his "X" account.
The former Vidarbha cricketer added that Babar Azam even tried to copy the way Virat Kohli plays, and that an unnecessary comparison with the Delhi cricketer led to Babar's inconsistency.
"People around you treat you like that. The media is calling you King Babar. Unnecessary comparison started with Virat. And I think that pressure started playing in his mind. He tried to be like Virat Kohli.
"He tried to play like how Virat used to in the Indian team. He tried to play like that. He tried to perform like that. Virat is Virat — one of the greatest players of this generation. So, I felt that the media hyped him too much. And from there, his downslide started," added the 48-year-old.
Jaffer elaborated by saying that Babar had a chance to lead a formidable Pakistan side, but he failed to do so.
“Plus, his captaincy. He didn’t build the team as he should have. Although he got the chances, he couldn’t perform as expected. Neither could he win consistently with his team. Although he played in the T20 World Cup final, the team was good. But I just thought, ‘He didn’t take Pakistan cricket to the top when he had the chance.’ So, some things happened," he said.
The Lahore-born cricketer has played 61 Tests, 140 ODIs and 145 T20Is, and has scored more than 15,000 runs across formats. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has scored more than 28,000 runs from 559 international matches.
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