“You might just see a bit Babar Azam and maybe show his place as well”, Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli – Babar Azam debate.

Comparisons have been a prevalent aspect of the sports world throughout history. In recent times, there’s been a recurring parallel drawn between Virat Kohli and the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, whereas Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, also finds himself frequently measured against Kohli’s achievements. Discussing this matter, Sanjay Manjrekar, a former cricketer from India, noted that comparing Sachin or Kohli with Babar might not always be just, given their lengthy track record of accomplishments, while Babar is still on his journey to greatness.

Manjrekar further remarked that both Virat and Babar are exceptional players, yet he opines that the former Indian captain holds a slight edge due to his prolonged dominance in the One Day International (ODI) format. Consequently, with the ODI World Cup on the horizon, Manjrekar throws his support behind Kohli but anticipates that these comparisons will persist throughout the upcoming two major tournaments.

Manjrekar said “Absolutely, and we can expect that to happen again. Just one thing that you know people like Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have had to deal with that they’ve had long careers and they sort of have spanned over 10 15 years and anytime there’s been a rising star, he’s been compared to a guy who’s been in the race for a long time. So sometimes it can be a little unfair but the greatness of these two guys is that they maintain that standard that the best performance of a rising player is equated with it.”

Manjrekar further stated “Yes, both very good players. One obviously in his prime younger but coming to these kind of platform we want to say Virat Kohli and see with the format that we have here not the T20 format, Asia Cup this time round you might just see a bit Babar Azam and maybe show his place as well.”