Virat Kohli and Babar Azam

Former Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad has come out strongly against the trend of comparing players, particularly Babar Azam, with modern-day great Virat Kohli. Speaking in an interview, Shehzad said that such comparisons are not only unfair but also add unnecessary pressure on players, which is visible in Babar’s current struggles. “When everything was going well, you were running campaigns comparing players. Now that the performances are not coming, you are saying ‘don’t compare two players’. Why not? Virat Kohli’s comparison cannot be made with anyone in the world. He is a legend of this generation, a role model. You cannot compare him even with MS Dhoni. Dhoni may have been a great captain, but as a batter, cricketer, and athlete, Kohli stands alone. No one should be compared with anyone because it’s unfair and it adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam,” Shehzad said. Babar’s dip in form has been a talking point for months. He has now gone 72 consecutive international innings without scoring a century, with his last hundred coming against Nepal. Since 2023, no other cricketer has endured a longer drought without a century. Adding to that, since 2024, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan are the only two batters from full-member nations with a strike rate below 80. The struggles have coincided with a change in leadership. Babar is no longer Pakistan’s captain across formats, having stepped down earlier this year following criticism over results and his own performances. The recent ODI series against West Indies only intensified the scrutiny, as Pakistan suffered a 202-run loss to concede their first bilateral ODI series to the Caribbean side in 34 years.

Shehzad’s remarks highlight the pressure top players face when placed on the same pedestal as legends, and why the weight of public comparisons can often prove damaging to form and confidence.