‘Kohli scores goals in every match…’ – First Post

Former Pakistan cricketer Zaheer Abbas has rubbished “meaningless” comparisons between veteran India batsman Virat Kohli and his Pakistani counterpart Babar Azam and pointed out Kohli’s impressive consistency. Babar was once considered one of the ‘Fab Five’ in international cricket, comprising himself, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. However, there has been a decline in the 29-year-old’s form with the bat in recent times.

”Yeh fizool ki baatein hai (comparisons are meaningless). Virat Kohli scores in every match, the other player (Babar) doesn’t score in any match, so how can you compare? “The person who scores is the bigger player,” Abbas told the news agency. PTI On the sidelines of the Cricket Predicta Conclave in Sharjah.

While Kohli has 80 international hundreds to his name, the much younger Babar has scored 31 centuries across formats. Abbas also acknowledged India’s consistency across formats and said the Rohit Sharma-led team will be a strong contender for the upcoming Champions Trophy.

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“The Indian team is generally very good. Their batsmen are good and their bowlers are also good. “They are a very balanced team, playing soch samajh kar (thoughtfully),” Abbas said.

“They have a very good captain who understands cricket very well. So, when everything goes in your favor, it’s smooth sailing. This is the situation in India right now.

“They have a very good chance of being successful (in the Champions Cup) because they have a balanced team,” the 77-year-old player said.

Hailed as the ‘Asian Bradman’ for his insatiable appetite for runs, Abbas was one of the most elegant batsmen of his time. He played 78 Tests and 62 ODIs for Pakistan and amassed 5062 and 2572 runs respectively.

‘Teams in T20s can win by luck, not in Tests’

The 77-year-old believes that Test cricket truly tests players’ character, endurance, mental strength, technique and consistency. “Test cricket is real cricket. This is the real test of any player, any bowler. At one point, India and Pakistan’s Test team were good. And now the boards realize that we cannot continue without Test cricket.

“How many T20s can you play? How many white-ball tournaments can the ICC organize? Maybe 2 or 3 but eventually you have to go back to ODIs or Tests.

“If you continue with Test cricket, cricket will last longer. I know people like to get quick results but gradually they will get bored of T20s and we need Tests and ODIs.” An increasing number of players are turning down central contracts from boards to focus on their careers in T20 franchise leagues, something Abbas believes needs to be addressed A worrying trend.

“It is the ultimate in Test cricket. Anyone can win in T20. Teams can win by chance. But that is not the case in Test cricket as there are two innings. You have the opportunity to do good things in one fell swoop. Test cricket teaches you a lot.

“I know a lot of players don’t want to play T20 rather than Test cricket. This needs to be stopped. They need to find something…

“It’s like you need to play at least 5 or 6 Test matches a year and then you can play ODIs or T20s. “A minimum number of Test matches need to be allocated every year,” he added.

‘Bangladesh’s loss was a huge failure’

Pakistan, once a cricket powerhouse, now finds itself in a difficult situation. The downward trend started with the Asia Cup last year and was followed by the team’s early elimination from the ODI World Cup in 2023 and this year’s T20 World Cup. They suffered their first Test series defeat against Bangladesh earlier this month.

”Bohot bada dhakka tha (It was a huge defeat) Pakistan lost to Bangladesh. We never thought that Pakistan would not only lose, but lose this badly.

”Pakistan cricket abhi daamadol hai (not doing so well). Performance dropped. I’m hopeful it will get better. There are many reasons behind this.

”It just so happens that the West Indies were once the best in the world, now that is not the case. But I hope Pakistan cricket will return to the top, the boys are working hard.”

Pacer Shaheen Afridi replaced Babar as captain in T20Is after the 2023 ODI World Cup but the former was re-appointed captain earlier this year.

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Abbas urged the PCB to take action before the problem escalates further. “Yes, there have been rivalries between Pakistani teams in the past but the board must quickly take into account the rivalry between Babar and Shaheen. The faster the better because it will continue to escalate.

Abbas said, “Competition is good, but it should not become serious, if it does, it will harm the team.”

Abbas, former Pakistan player Mudassar Nazar and former Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore addressed the conclave to celebrate the centenary of Cricket Predicta, Asia’s largest live statistics-based cricket show.

With PTI inputs