Babar Azam Hits Back Angrily At Virat Kohli's Context After PSL Failure

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam [Source: AP and PCB]

Babar Azam and Virat Kohli are considered the two greats of the two nations, India and Pakistan. While Virat Kohli has already received the Greatest of All Time status from fans worldwide, Babar has been more often compared to the Indian great by stats and playing technicalities.

As PSL 2026 is going on, in a press conference for Peshawar Zalmi, for which Babar Azam is the skipper, it took a fiery turn. Azam was seen infuriated after a Kohli comparison was brought up by a journalist to him.

The Babar Azam and Virat Kohli comparison

Both the Indian and Pakistani greats started their emergence at almost the same time and also have almost similar stats when kept side by side, with Kohli being slightly better in a few formats.

While Kohli has been known as the chase master, Babar Azam is known for his elite consistency in ODI cricket. While both of them are considered modern greats. In T20Is Babar has 4596 runs from 145 matches, while Kohli has garnered 4188 runs from 125 games.

While the tally is almost incomparable, a Pakistani journalist brought up a fiery question in the PSL 2026 press conference.

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Babar shushes Pakistan journalist on awkward Virat Kohli question

On the eve of the Pakistan Super League game, Babar was attending a press conference when an awkward Kohli comparison left the Pak great in an uncomfortable situation which led him to retort in an angry manner.

“The complaint is that Babar starts well, but he can’t finish games. And you are also being compared with Virat Kohli, as he comes from the same background, but he finishes well. So is that comparison right?” the journalist questioned.

“Khatam kar de app. Aap jis tarah jis wajah se sawaal kar rahe hai app chor de usko. (Please end it. Stop it. The way you are asking me the question and for what reason, please end it,)” an angry Babar said at the press conference.

Notably, Babar Azam has not been able to convert his starts into match-finishing knocks while chasing. For instance, against Hyderabad Kingsmen, Babar scored 43 off 37 balls but was dismissed in the 15th over, failing to see the chase through. 

Similarly, against Rawalpindiz, despite the target being 214, Babar fell in the ninth over after scoring just 39, leaving the responsibility to the rest of the top and middle order.

Who is better as a T20I chaser, Kohli or Babar?

Interestingly, Virat Kohli has better chasing numbers in T20 cricket than Babar. While chasing a target, Kohli averages 67.1 in T20 cricket from 123 games, whereas Babar has an average of only 35.31 while chasing in 138 T20I matches.

Kohli also has a better ability to handle pressure in T20 cricket, given the fact that the Indian great has been dismissed only 53 times while chasing, whereas Babar has been dismissed 69 times in the process. 

Most of Virat Kohli's dismissals while chasing have come against Australia, while Babar's weakness has been more effectively exploited by New Zealand in T20I matches while chasing.

Babar Azam’s PSL 2026 campaign

Nevertheless, Babar's PSL 2026 campaign has been going well. In the two matches he played against Rawalpindiz and Hyderabad Kingsmen, Babar scored 39 and 43, respectively, while averaging 41. However, his strike rate remains a point of debate at 126.15.

In the recently concluded World Cup as well, Babar Azam had a debatable strike rate of 112.35, along with a poor average of 22.75. Nevertheless, he is regaining form with the bat and will look to continue his strong run in Pakistan’s premier league.

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