Babar Azam picked over Virat Kohli in Dream 11 for WC 2027. Source- AFP
The ODI World Cup 2027 is over a year away, but the fever around the marquee event has already started to peak. In the subcontinent, there is a massive debate over whether the Indian maestros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play in the mega event.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former Test great and ex-captain Azhar Ali has omitted the Indian great from his XI for the World Cup 2027.
Azhar Ali omits Virat Kohli; hands number 3 spot to Babar Azam
In a fun segment on Zalmi TV, former Pakistan batter Azhar Ali, who scored 7142 Tests for Pakistan, picked his Dream XI for the World Cup 2027, but with one condition: only two cricketers per country.
He named India’s Rohit Sharma and Travis Head as his openers. For the much-awaited number three position, he picked Babar Azam over the legendary Virat Kohli, who has the most centuries in the format, leaving one spot open for any other Indian player.
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Harry Brook and Jos Buttler were picked from England; the Proteas swashbuckler David Miller is also in there. Whereas the Blackcaps captain Mitchell Santner, along with Matt Henry, was from New Zealand in Azhar Ali’s Dream XI for the 2027 World Cup.
Australian World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins is the skipper in Azhar’s team. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah and Abrar Ahmed were also included.
Watch: Azhar Ali picks his Dream XI for 2027 World Cup
Kohli vs Babar: Why the Indian Star has a clear edge in ODI cricket?
Despite all the backing Babar Azam receives, the stylish batter has yet to prove himself at the biggest stages. Barring one World Cup century, which came in 2019, he hasn’t had any other notable contributions in the the marquee event.
Although Babar averages a whopping 52.9 in World Cups, scoring 794 runs in 17 innings, Virat Kohli’s World Cup average sits at 59.8, despite playing two more World Cups than the Pakistan batter.
After 37 innings, Kohli has racked up 1795 runs with a strike rate of nearly 90, featuring five centuries and 12 half-centuries.
| Criterion (in WCs) | Virat Kohli | Babar Azam |
| Innings | 37 | 17 |
| Runs | 1795 | 794 |
| Average | 59.8 | 52.9 |
| Strike rate | 88.2 | 85.7 |
| 50s/100s | 12/5 | 1/7 |
Meanwhile, the two have had a massive difference in impact in the matches against each other’s teams. Kohli has bossed Pakistan on multiple occasions, including a Player of the Match performance in the 2015 WC and the famous 183 in the 2012 Asia Cup.
Kohli has scored four centuries and two fifties vs Pakistan in ODIs. On the contrary, Babar has just one ODI fifty against India.
Moreover, Kohli has an emphatic impact on ODI cricket, scoring 14941 runs in 314 matches at nearly 60. Whereas Babar Azam, after 143 games, has 6626 runs to his name in the 50-over format. That said, the Pakistan batter still has age on his side.
Azhar Ali's Dream XI for 2027 WC
Nevertheless, let's have a look at the Dream XI Azhar Ali has picked for the World Cup 2027.
1) Rohit Sharma, 2) Travis Head, 3) Babar Azam, 4) Harry Brook, 5) David Miller, 6) Jos Buttler (wk), 7) Mitchell Santner, 8) Pat Cummins (c), 9) Matt Henry, 10) Abrar Ahmed, 11) Jasprit Bumrah
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