Who will retire with a higher Test batting average - Virat Kohli or Babar Azam?

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

At the moment both of them are struggling. Babar at least is scoring some runs in test cricket but Kohli has been performing poorly in tests for the last 3 years. His average has gone below 49. If he continue playing like this he might end up with an average of 46 something which isn't bad but past and real legends like Sachin, Lara, Kallis, Ponting and Sanga had a test average above 50. Steve Smith's current test average is 60. Babar has an average of 48 something. Who out of these two will end up with a higher test batting average? Discuss.

 

[Rana]

Should be Kohli

Babar might finish with an average of 45-46

Kohli will finish with an average of 48-50

 

[Mamoon]

Even 2022 version of Kohli would average 90+ on the pitches that Babar plays on.

On the other hand, Babar wouldn’t average more than 35 on the rank turners that Kohli has piled up thousands of runs.

If BCCI are really serious about protecting Kohli’s average, they should arrange a Test series with Pakistan.

Irrespective of his form, irrespective of the pitch, conditions & match situation, Pakistani bowlers will always bow down to the king.

The only reason Kohli’s Test average never touched 60 is because India deprived him of facing Pakistani bowlers in Test cricket.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Should be Kohli

Babar might finish with an average of 45-46

Kohli will finish with an average of 48-50

Only way he can retire with an average above 48 is if he decides to retire now. Otherwise his average will take a beating.

 

[kumjsr]

Babar Azam probably averages 41-42 in domestic FC cricket. I would be surprised if he ever managed to maintain avg of 50 in tests even for a year.

Babar will end up as Pakistani great with test avg of 43-45, ODI avg of 50+. He doesn't seem to be better than that.

Kohli will end career with 47-48 in tests and ODI avg of 55+.

 

[Rana]

Only way he can retire with an average above 48 is if he decides to retire now. Otherwise his average will take a beating.

Very much possible

Time will tell

 

[zarak]

Even 2022 version of Kohli would average 90+ on the pitches that Babar plays on.

On the other hand, Babar wouldn’t average more than 35 on the rank turners that Kohli has piled up thousands of runs.

If BCCI are really serious about protecting Kohli’s average, they should arrange a Test series with Pakistan.

Irrespective of his form, irrespective of the pitch, conditions & match situation, Pakistani bowlers will always bow down to the king.

The only reason Kohli’s Test average never touched 60 is because India deprived him of facing Pakistani bowlers in Test cricket.

I appreciate your realist attitude but no need to downplay babar the test batter. Babar recently played on the same pitches in Bangladesh where he looked way more assured and made good runs. Babar played on some rank turners in Srilanka just now and dominated spin, despite being weak against it. Watch his batting on the tour to westindies last year. He made no 100s but looked so assured on ridiculously seaming wickets.

Babar the batter isn't like Kohli. He doesn't have the mindset to play those memorable innings- especially in white ball cricket where Kohli has way more skill than him. But don't underestimate him in tests, he has a solid technique and probably better defense and range than Kohli. He's not mentality monster but skill for skill he is up there with the best in test matches. I don't rate him in white ball cricket where he makes soft runs.

 

[Mamoon]

I appreciate your realist attitude but no need to downplay babar the test batter. Babar recently played on the same pitches in Bangladesh where he looked way more assured and made good runs. Babar played on some rank turners in Srilanka just now and dominated spin, despite being weak against it. Watch his batting on the tour to westindies last year. He made no 100s but looked so assured on ridiculously seaming wickets.

Babar the batter isn't like Kohli. He doesn't have the mindset to play those memorable innings- especially in white ball cricket where Kohli has way more skill than him. But don't underestimate him in tests, he has a solid technique and probably better defense and range than Kohli. He's not mentality monster but skill for skill he is up there with the best in test matches. I don't rate him in white ball cricket where he makes soft runs.

I thought Babar was making good strides in Test cricket but the England series has showed that it was a false dawn.

In all three Tests, England gave Pakistan a huge window of opportunity. Babar failed to seize the moment in all three Tests. Great players don’t do that, especially at home.

His stock has certainly fallen in Test cricket after the last series.

 

[Varun]

Kohli is going to come roaring back to form in the Australia series, which will generate a second wind for the rest of his career. He will retire with an average of 50+.

You read it here first.

 

[ElRaja]

virat is a great batsman but his test numbers arent great, over the last 20 tests its not even a comparison, but peak kohli from 2016 to 2019 was levels above anything babar has so far achieved in tests.

babars career depends on whether he has a purple patch like inzi and yk after hitting 30. otherwise he wont even go down as a pak test atg.

 

[Ab Fan]

AB de Villiers has retired with a better test average than all of them and inspired the likes of Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav and Babar Azam to play the game like he did. That's already greater than what Kohli and Babar can do.

 

[Ashmal]

Kohli has never been the benchmark in Tests....Smith and Root have been better players.

Apart from purple patch in 2016-18, he has been pretty average for his standards.

I expect him to retire with an avg of 45-47.

 

[Zaz]

Babar will finish with a much better avge

Kohlis tests figures have been on the downhill since the last 3 years and will continue to fall whereas babars is rising every series Granted babar plays on flatter pitches at home but his general play is much more assured in the longer format than kohlis

And its not just home tests babar avges very decently away from home too

Kohlis problem is his technique isnt as good as babars which you can get away with in limited overs cricket but in tests where there is appreciably spin swing seam and variable bounce you need good solid foundations

In tests there are multiple slips and batsmen around the bat too, you cant have holes in your technique

Think weve seen the best of kohli in tests and he ll finish with an avge of around 47

Babar has the quality of play to continue to score runs in all conditions in tests for the next few years

 

[Msd_7]

This too shall pass

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

AB de Villiers has retired with a better test average than all of them and inspired the likes of Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav and Babar Azam to play the game like he did. That's already greater than what Kohli and Babar can do.

Kindly stick to the topic at hand. Thread is about Kohli and Babar. Thanks.

 

[zarak]

Babar Azam probably averages 41-42 in domestic FC cricket. I would be surprised if he ever managed to maintain avg of 50 in tests even for a year.

Babar will end up as Pakistani great with test avg of 43-45, ODI avg of 50+. He doesn't seem to be better than that.

Kohli will end career with 47-48 in tests and ODI avg of 55+.

Wrong on many fronts and your bias is crazy. Babar's first-class average is 45. Regarding your second point, please see below.

Test Average in 2018: 58
Test Average in 2019: 66
Test Average in 2020: 67
Test Average in 2022: 68

Averaging over 60 in 3 of the last five years.

 

[Ashmal]

Kohli has never been the benchmark in Tests....Smith and Root have been better players.

Apart from purple patch in 2016-18, he has been pretty average for his standards.

I expect him to retire with an avg of 45-47.

Too early to comment on Babar, he has a long way to go in his Test career.

 

[zarak]

I thought Babar was making good strides in Test cricket but the England series has showed that it was a false dawn.

In all three Tests, England gave Pakistan a huge window of opportunity. Babar failed to seize the moment in all three Tests. Great players don’t do that, especially at home.

His stock has certainly fallen in Test cricket after the last series.

This was the type of series where he should have made 3-4 100s. No offense to England but their attack was pretty ordinary. Bulk of the overs being balled by Leach, Jacks, and whatever bang average spinner they had.

I still think he will end up with a 50+ average and out stat Kohli in Tests. But I do not think he will contribute to many victories unless we develop some other batters.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Wrong on many fronts and your bias is crazy. Babar's first-class average is 45. Regarding your second point, please see below.

Test Average in 2018: 58
Test Average in 2019: 66
Test Average in 2020: 67
Test Average in 2022: 68

Averaging over 60 in 3 of the last five years.

[MENTION=132954]Aman[/MENTION] posted this in the match thread.

Virat Kohli lowest batting avg in a calendar year
19.33 in 2020
28.21 in 2021
26.50 in 2022

 

[atreus]

AB de Villiers has retired with a better test average than all of them and inspired the likes of Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav and Babar Azam to play the game like he did. That's already greater than what Kohli and Babar can do.

AB def > Kohli in both formats

 

[MenInG]

Thread is about Babar and Virat

Lets keep all others out of discussion

 

[sweep_shot]

Babar should do it.

Babar is not a very good captain but he is an elite batter. Very consistent.

 

[pak.cricket]

Babar. But not because he is a better player than kohli. Only because he plays on highway pitches in Pakistan.

 

[Ab Fan]

AB def > Kohli in both formats

Yes [MENTION=156982]atreus[/MENTION], I agree with you.

Let's get back to the actual thread.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar. But not because he is a better player than kohli. Only because he plays on highway pitches in Pakistan.

Kohli in India: Matches 46, Average 61
Babar in Pakistan: Matches 11 Average 74

 

[JaDed]

Kohli in India: Matches 46, Average 61
Babar in Pakistan: Matches 11 Average 74

But the pitches in India were way tougher during Kohli’s era.

 

[JaDed]

Babar will definitely overtake Kohli.

 

[Saj]

Babar's Test average has now hit 50 for the first time in his career.

Virat at the moment 49.80.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar's Test average has now hit 50 for the first time in his career.

Virat at the moment 49.80.

Kohli took 52 tests to get there whereas Babar did it in 46 tests.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Virat has lost his ability to pile up runs at home. In this BD tour he could have scored 200 easily. I don't think he is motivated enough or he is nearing his retirement. I don't exepct him to get to the same level as he was in 2016. Babar on the other hand score boat load of runs in the coming years. I expect Babar to be on the higher side.

 

[Pollack]

Kohli in India: Matches 46, Average 61
Babar in Pakistan: Matches 11 Average 74

India doesn't produce much highways at home atleast not in last 12 years.

 

[Bilal7]

Babar will end with an average of 51-52. Kohli will struggle to end with an average of over 47 if he fails in the upcoming series against Australia as well.

Kohli is at a crossroads in his career while Babar is the best batsman in the world, across formats.

 

[Bilal7]

Any difference in batting conditions are cancelled out by the teammates that each player has had. Kohli has Pujara at #3 while Babar's one-down is Shan Masood.

Kohli has had it very easy in test cricket. He was always surrounded by star batsmen and never had to be the main test batsman for India. Babar became the most important batsman as soon as Younis Khan retired.

 

[Front Foot Pull]

Kohli in India: Matches 46, Average 61
Babar in Pakistan: Matches 11 Average 74

batting average per wicket for last 4 years tests hosted
in pak : 35.85 (highest in the world by a big margin)
in ind : 26.25 (3rd lowest)

in last 10 years, batting avg for tests hosted in
UAE : 32.87 (2nd highest behind pak)
IND : 29.03 (ranks lower middle)

 

[jnaveen1980]

Any difference in batting conditions are cancelled out by the teammates that each player has had. Kohli has Pujara at #3 while Babar's one-down is Shan Masood.

Kohli has had it very easy in test cricket. He was always surrounded by star batsmen and never had to be the main test batsman for India. Babar became the most important batsman as soon as Younis Khan retired.

Pujara? lol He has been a liability for the last 3 years so was Rahane. Kohli doesn't need support help when he was at peak. Kohli has been going through a bad patch for the last 3 years. He is averaing under 30 in the last 3 years. Still he is one innings away from pushing the average past 50. He was that consistent during his peak. But i don't think he will have another peak. Age, workload, lack of motivation will all add up and he will fade away. Only times he scores runs when he plays against Pakistan. Otherwise he has been struggling against everyone including Bangladesh

 

[jnaveen1980]

batting average per wicket for last 4 years tests hosted
in pak : 35.85 (highest in the world by a big margin)
in ind : 26.25 (3rd lowest)

in last 10 years, batting avg for tests hosted in
UAE : 32.87 (2nd highest behind pak)
IND : 29.03 (ranks lower middle)

Traditionally pakistan has been stat padder's delight. One of the biggest advantage is Pak pitches has the lowest bounce among all countries. But credit to him he makes use of his form to pile up runs. You never know when a bad patch will surface. He can pile up as much as he can here as an insurance policy for future drop in averages. That is what Kohli did. Root is doing now.

 

[Ashmal]

batting average per wicket for last 4 years tests hosted
in pak : 35.85 (highest in the world by a big margin)
in ind : 26.25 (3rd lowest)

in last 10 years, batting avg for tests hosted in
UAE : 32.87 (2nd highest behind pak)
IND : 29.03 (ranks lower middle)

That doesn't show anything when Kohli has been outbatted at home by his own teammates(Pant, Pujara, Rohit) on numerous occasions in last few years.

And it's not like Kohli has been scoring runs for fun overseas in last 3 years.

Avg of 26 in last 3yrs says it all.

 

[mastermind_quad]

Strictly talking about good batsman like Babar and Kohli only (not any average batsman). Maintaining average above 50 for higher numbers of matches is a bit difficult then less number of matches. Considering Pakistan plays less test cricket it'll be a bit easy for Babar compared to Kohli to maintain 50+ avg over a period of time. There will be time when batsman loose form as well.
But this doesn't mean Babar is any lesser batsman he can score to whatever match he get and less matches are even more difficult for average batsman to maintain average

Babar is a brilliant batsman and if he maintain his form he can be Pakistan's highest run scorer in each format. I am sure he'll do that.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar. But not because he is a better player than kohli. Only because he plays on highway pitches in Pakistan.

Kohli in India: Matches 46, Average 61
Babar in Pakistan: Matches 11 Average 74

India doesn't produce much highways at home atleast not in last 12 years.

batting average per wicket for last 4 years tests hosted
in pak : 35.85 (highest in the world by a big margin)
in ind : 26.25 (3rd lowest)

in last 10 years, batting avg for tests hosted in
UAE : 32.87 (2nd highest behind pak)
IND : 29.03 (ranks lower middle)

Some of you don't even read the quoted posts and start replying. Look at the number of tests Babar has played in Pakistan and compared those to Virat's. The post I quoted said Babar will have higher average because he plays in highway pitches in Pakistan. He has just started playing at his home regularly and doesn't get to tour SENA countries as regularly as Kohli does but ofcourse why will you guys take these things into consideration? Can you tell how many tests Kohli played in England in last 5 years compared to Babar? What is his average there?

 

[jnaveen1980]

AB de Villiers has retired with a better test average than all of them and inspired the likes of Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav and Babar Azam to play the game like he did. That's already greater than what Kohli and Babar can do.

Just that Subcontinent fans have this extreme hero worshipping culture. A reason why lot of players overstay. Dhoni for 3 or 4 years. Kohli 3 long years failed in Tests. He continues enjoying the backing. Does he care about his Test aveage dropping like his fans? Heck not. He has million dollar houses. Still minting money in IPL. It is only fans doing number gymnastics to save the legacy of these fallen heroes. I couldn't care less if he finishes at 45 or 50. We only care about india win. If a next gen that is better than him, kick him out. Should have been kicked out long back.

 

[Front Foot Pull]

Some of you don't even read the quoted posts and start replying. Look at the number of tests Babar has played in Pakistan and compared those to Virat's. The post I quoted said Babar will have higher average because he plays in highway pitches in Pakistan. He has just started playing at his home regularly and doesn't get to tour SENA countries as regularly as Kohli does but ofcourse why will you guys take these things into consideration? Can you tell how many tests Kohli played in England in last 5 years compared to Babar? What is his average there?

which is exactly why i have given UAE stats as well. pak/uae..was/is/will be babar home country depending on other situations. and both those host nations are the top two run scoring places. yes, babar as played less number of matches than kohli in ENG and has better average as well. but kohli has better average in AUS and SA, which is the toughest place to get runs. but he has more matches than babar there too. kohli having more matches than babar in most foreign nations is a given at this point.
me posting those stats was to establish that babar plays in much more batting friendly home conditions than virat and that makes a significant difference cause most batters spend approx. half of their career playing at home. your point might be that virat plays more in SENA and hence gets used to pitches more, i agree to that as well. but playing more in SENA can also have negative effect on your numbers if you can't cope up with the conditions.

 

[Front Foot Pull]

That doesn't show anything when Kohli has been outbatted at home by his own teammates(Pant, Pujara, Rohit) on numerous occasions in last few years.

And it's not like Kohli has been scoring runs for fun overseas in last 3 years.

Avg of 26 in last 3yrs says it all.

of course it shows about who has favourable home conditions. this thread is about babar v kohli so kohli getting out performed by some of his teammates doesn't matter much here.

yes kohli has been in poor form, there is no denying that.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Babar playing on ultra-flat roads, obviously he will finish with highest average with least impact.
And he will finish with less SENA and OS hundreds.

 

[Ashmal]

of course it shows about who has favourable home conditions. this thread is about babar v kohli so kohli getting out performed by some of his teammates doesn't matter much here.

yes kohli has been in poor form, there is no denying that.

When others in your own team are outperforming you, it shows that it was possible to do better in those conditions and the issue is probably with the player himself (Kohli and his weakness against quality spin).

There's no doubt that conditions are tougher in India but that's not the sole reason for Kohli's lower average.


Even Babar struggled in the early part of his test career inspite of playing on friendlier UAE surfaces.......it's only after he tightened his game(there's still some work to do) that he finally managed to kick on and started scoring in all conditions.

 

[Mobashir]

Pujara? lol He has been a liability for the last 3 years so was Rahane. Kohli doesn't need support help when he was at peak. Kohli has been going through a bad patch for the last 3 years. He is averaing under 30 in the last 3 years. Still he is one innings away from pushing the average past 50. He was that consistent during his peak. But i don't think he will have another peak. Age, workload, lack of motivation will all add up and he will fade away. Only times he scores runs when he plays against Pakistan. Otherwise he has been struggling against everyone including Bangladesh

Not true.
He has scored a useless hundred vs Afghanistan when India was already out of Asia cup.
He scored tucktuck fifties vs Bangaldesh and Namibia in the world cup.
He made sure to tuck tuck a fifty vs England so India can't reach a respectable total.
And he also scored a useless hundred vs Bangladesh in the last ODI when the series was already lost.

Even out of form, he is stat pading the best he can.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Not true.
He has scored a useless hundred vs Afghanistan when India was already out of Asia cup.
He scored tucktuck fifties vs Bangaldesh and Namibia in the world cup.
He made sure to tuck tuck a fifty vs England so India can't reach a respectable total.
And he also scored a useless hundred vs Bangladesh in the last ODI when the series was already lost.

Even out of form, he is stat pading the best he can.

Meaningful knock came against Pakistan. Even at his worst form he managed to bully Pakistan on the biggest stage. Even in world T20 2021, he made a 50 even at his worst form. SO yea. it is true he loves Pakistan bowling more than others. In current form Kohli vs Pakistan is a sure shot success compared to Kohli vs BD.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Babar playing on ultra-flat roads, obviously he will finish with highest average with least impact.
And he will finish with less SENA and OS hundreds.

As long as Pak fans are happy about their "all format star player" lol why should others care man They are happy with their hero scoring runs. Not long ago he was vilified on this forum during world t20 lol. Given the track record that circle will be visited again.

 

[Kraetoz]

Meaningful knock came against Pakistan. Even at his worst form he managed to bully Pakistan on the biggest stage. Even in world T20 2021, he made a 50 even at his worst form. SO yea. it is true he loves Pakistan bowling more than others. In current form Kohli vs Pakistan is a sure shot success compared to Kohli vs BD.

Fifty in world t20 2021 was stat padding of the highest order, similar to the knock he played against England in the semis of world t20 this year. That's why result of both the matches was same, opposition won with 10 wickets to spare.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Fifty in world t20 2021 was stat padding of the highest order, similar to the knock he played against England in the semis of world t20 this year. That's why result of both the matches was same, opposition won with 10 wickets to spare.

Not really INdia was three down very early. HE was at the worst point of his career. He couldnt' score even in weak side. He couldn't stat pad too lol Come Pakistan bowlers he smashed Afridi the start of the match down the ground for six. IT is a fact Pakistan is the only team against which he can score now. Not even Bangladesh without a chance.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Strictly talking about good batsman like Babar and Kohli only (not any average batsman). Maintaining average above 50 for higher numbers of matches is a bit difficult then less number of matches. Considering Pakistan plays less test cricket it'll be a bit easy for Babar compared to Kohli to maintain 50+ avg over a period of time. There will be time when batsman loose form as well.
But this doesn't mean Babar is any lesser batsman he can score to whatever match he get and less matches are even more difficult for average batsman to maintain average

Babar is a brilliant batsman and if he maintain his form he can be Pakistan's highest run scorer in each format. I am sure he'll do that.

Kohli is porer than lot of Indian domestic player now. But if the pitch is a bouncy track i would still pick Kohli 100 out of 100 times over Babar even in his current form.

 

[dravidthewall]

Not true.
He has scored a useless hundred vs Afghanistan when India was already out of Asia cup.
He scored tucktuck fifties vs Bangaldesh and Namibia in the world cup.
He made sure to tuck tuck a fifty vs England so India can't reach a respectable total.
And he also scored a useless hundred vs Bangladesh in the last ODI when the series was already lost.

Even out of form, he is stat pading the best he can.

But he won match vs Pakistan when 47 runs needed in 3 overs. That babar can't replicate.

 

[dravidthewall]

BTW who cares about his average,at the end test series win is matters . What is the use of Babar"s runs ,when team get thrashed by 0-3 at home.

 

[ElRaja]

the jewel in virats crown is his performances in Australia, beyond that, if he continues on his current trajectory, he will end up with a good, but not ATG test career.

babar has reaped massive benefits from playing in Pakistan, he needs to string together three or four seasons where he gets at least 2 to 3 overseas centuries before he can eclipse virat.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

the jewel in virats crown is his performances in Australia, beyond that, if he continues on his current trajectory, he will end up with a good, but not ATG test career.

babar has reaped massive benefits from playing in Pakistan, he needs to string together three or four seasons where he gets at least 2 to 3 overseas centuries before he can eclipse virat.

Kohli scored tons in all SENA countries against top quality bowling attacks like Steyn, Mitchel Jhonson, Rabada, Philander, Morkel,, Starc, Cummins, Hazelwood, Nathon Lyon, Anderson, Stuart Brad, Boult, Southee and Wagner.

He destroyed peak Malinga and scored heavily against Pakistan in LOI's
He literally dominated everyone until 2019.

Peak Baabar yet to score outside Asia, he still has lot of time.

 

[mastermind_quad]

Kohli is porer than lot of Indian domestic player now. But if the pitch is a bouncy track i would still pick Kohli 100 out of 100 times over Babar even in his current form.

yeah but that's different point of discussion.
I just gave my 2cent on thread topic.

 

[pakistani pride]

Who cares about the average of a single player. Babar scored mega soft runs vs Eng and Pak lost 3- 0 at home!

Kohli as a captain has won in SENA. Babar cant even win at home.

No comparison at all.

 

[Sachin136]

Babar is currently 28 and has scored a grand total of one century from 22 tests outside Asia.

When Kohli was 28, he had hit 8 hundreds from 24 tests outside Asia (including centuries in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand). He's just a cut above Babar.

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/e...orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

 

[atreus]

they're both ending in the 47-48 range , Kohli will be viewed as the better test batsmen by a small margin while Kohli would be well ahead in one day and T20 , Kohli's legacy would leave Babar in dust

come back 8 years later and tell me how wrong or right I was

 

[pakistani pride]

Babar is currently 28 and has scored a grand total of one century from 22 tests outside Asia.

When Kohli was 28, he had hit 8 hundreds from 24 tests outside Asia (including centuries in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand). He's just a cut above Babar.

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/e...orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

At the moment it is a NO contest. Babar is scoring mega soft runs and losing TESTS at HOME.

 

[aukhan]

Babar can never be as good as Kohli. This debate should end.

Babar is a soft run scorer just like MYosuf and looking at our batting legacy he will most likely end up as the best batsman we have produced in all formats.

 

[dravidthewall]

If Pakistan keep on prepare thease kind of highway ,Babar defenetely will retire at an average of 55 in test.

 

[Bilal7]

Loving the seething Indians whining about Babar having things easy (while he's batting with Shan Masood and Azhar Ali) just because Kohli has turned into a tail-ender.

Babar will not only surpass Kohli, he will surpass Sachin and become the best Asian batsman of all time, InshaAllah. He needs another great four years at the top without becoming a choker in order to accomplish this.

50% of all the runs Sachin scored were the softest runs anyone could ever dream of scoring.

 

[Sidilicious]

Who cares about the average of a single player. Babar scored mega soft runs vs Eng and Pak lost 3- 0 at home!

Kohli as a captain has won in SENA. Babar cant even win at home.

No comparison at all.

I disagree here. Babar cannot win test matches alone. So I would not rate him on wins in SENA. However, he needs to drive the results at home. He needs to take control of matches at home at least, and draw them, even if he can't win.

For eg. everyone would agree Sachin 136 vs Pakistan in Chennai was one of the greatest test innings, despite him not winning it. Clearly that was against a superior bowling attack (Saqlain, Wasim & Waqar/Shoaib vs Leach, Rehman, Anderson/Woods) and against a non-flat pitch. On such pitches as what Pakistan vs England happened, I would expect a player people calling the best in Tests, to outright draw it and not-even take the matches close. He needs to start taking control of matches even by scoring really big 200s. I would blame him for performances in 1st test and again in 2nd test. He should have scored more in the 1st innings of both tests.

What I would expect from him is
- At home - Score bigger double/triple hundreds if the pitches are going to be flat pancakes and draw the tests. If the pitches offer spin, like the 3rd test vs England, at least push England, if not draw the test.
- in SENA - Score hundreds consistently

 

[Sidilicious]

Loving the seething Indians whining about Babar having things easy (while he's batting with Shan Masood and Azhar Ali) just because Kohli has turned into a tail-ender.

Babar will not only surpass Kohli, he will surpass Sachin and become the best Asian batsman of all time, InshaAllah. He needs another great four years at the top without becoming a choker in order to accomplish this.

50% of all the runs Sachin scored were the softest runs anyone could ever dream of scoring.

When you compare Babar's career to-date vs Kohli career's at the same stage/age, please elaborate how has Babar outperformed Kohli? In tests there is no comparison. In LOIs, when looking at stats, you can compare. But not when you look at the impact.

In SENA in tests -
Babar - 14 test @ 39 with 1 100.
Kohli - 17 tests @ 49 with 7 100s

But will happy to look at the facts if you can present them as such.

 

[giri26]

Babar Azam as he plays mostly on flat roads at home. He can inflate his average a lot on such pitches. Why Babar, if Pakistan play lots of Tests at home, Agha Salman will end up with better average than Virat. Does not make either of them better batters than Virat.

 

[giri26]

I would Dare Babar to score half the "soft" runs Sachin scored in his career. Please don't kid yourself. Babar is a great batter but don't make this thread and discussion a joke by comparing him to Sachin. Babar is not even in the same planet as Sachin in Tests. Sachin had more SENA hundreds than Babar even before turning 20. Yeah if Babar plays on these flat pancakes he might reach an average of even 60 but no way he will be anywhere close to Sachin.

 

[Hitman]

Babar reminds me of Mohammad Yousuf. But soft run scorers, both flat track bullies with no spine outside of their comfort zone. Saeed Anwar a far better batsman than Babar, not even a comparison.

 

[Mobashir]

I know it's a general question and not just for the moment. But currently, Kohli's form is so bad that it's hard to imagine Where he will end. The Australia series will be very important for him. Last time he averages 9.20 at home vs Australia, so if has this kind of series again he will probably retire or will be forced out.
On the other hand, Babar is batting at a very very high level these days. But the lack of away test matches, the poor team he is playing in will harm his legacy. Let's see where does he go.

If it's only about averages, Babar will end up with a highest test average than Kohli I would think.

 

[Mamoon]

I know it's a general question and not just for the moment. But currently, Kohli's form is so bad that it's hard to imagine Where he will end. The Australia series will be very important for him. Last time he averages 9.20 at home vs Australia, so if has this kind of series again he will probably retire or will be forced out.
On the other hand, Babar is batting at a very very high level these days. But the lack of away test matches, the poor team he is playing in will harm his legacy. Let's see where does he go.

If it's only about averages, Babar will end up with a highest test average than Kohli I would think.

Even out of form Kohli would score runs on the pitches that are being served to Babar at home.

On the contrary, Babar wouldn’t have averaged 35 on the rank-turners where Kohli scored thousands of runs during his peak years in home conditions.

Everyone knows how poor Babar is against spin & after he failed on lively wickets at home vs South Africa, PCB went the flat wicket route to maximize his run scoring.

 

[Hitman]

Even out of form Kohli would score runs on the pitches that are being served to Babar at home.

On the contrary, Babar wouldn’t have averaged 35 on the rank-turners where Kohli scored thousands of runs during his peak years in home conditions.

Everyone knows how poor Babar is against spin & after he failed on lively wickets at home vs South Africa, PCB went the flat wicket route to maximize his run scoring.

Exactly. Anyone with a brain knows the reason behind these flat highways the PCB has produced lately. Such a shame, a champion performs in alien and tough conditions to prove his ability. In Babar's case, it has been the opposite. I'm pretty sure even Najam Sethi can score centuries in such pitches

 

[atreus]

Loving the seething Indians whining about Babar having things easy (while he's batting with Shan Masood and Azhar Ali) just because Kohli has turned into a tail-ender.

Babar will not only surpass Kohli, he will surpass Sachin and become the best Asian batsman of all time, InshaAllah. He needs another great four years at the top without becoming a choker in order to accomplish this.

50% of all the runs Sachin scored were the softest runs anyone could ever dream of scoring.

28 year old Sachin

current Babar

 

[Mobashir]

Even out of form Kohli would score runs on the pitches that are being served to Babar at home.

On the contrary, Babar wouldn’t have averaged 35 on the rank-turners where Kohli scored thousands of runs during his peak years in home conditions.

Everyone knows how poor Babar is against spin & after he failed on lively wickets at home vs South Africa, PCB went the flat wicket route to maximize his run scoring.

Still Babar didn't averaged 9.20 over 3 tests at home and then he opted out of the 4th test.
Kohli averages in the 20's against spin over the past 3 years. And even when he was at his best he averaged 9.20 against Australia in 2017.

Never has Kohli scored a hundred on a rank turner as Babar did in Sri Lanka.
Kohli's average of 43 in Sri Lanka, 35 in West Indies and 14 in Bangladesh tells us how is plays spin.
Note that he has a useless 200 on a flat track in west indies, other wise his average would be around 25.

In India he also has many many failures, he scored the odd big ones on flat tracks.
He has always been a lesser test match batsman against spin that Root and Smith. Now even Babar is better than him.

 

[Mamoon]

Still Babar didn't averaged 9.20 over 3 tests at home and then he opted out of the 4th test.
Kohli averages in the 20's against spin over the past 3 years. And even when he was at his best he averaged 9.20 against Australia in 2017.

Never has Kohli scored a hundred on a rank turner as Babar did in Sri Lanka.
Kohli's average of 43 in Sri Lanka, 35 in West Indies and 14 in Bangladesh tells us how is plays spin.
Note that he has a useless 200 on a flat track in west indies, other wise his average would be around 25.

In India he also has many many failures, he scored the odd big ones on flat tracks.
He has always been a lesser test match batsman against spin that Root and Smith. Now even Babar is better than him.

When Kohli scored thousands of runs in India during his golden period from 2015-2019, it was because the pitches were flat.

When Ashwin & Jadeja took heaps of wickets & won India so many matches on the same pitches, it was because the pitches were rank-turners.

It is funny how the pitch would automatically become flat when Kohli would come onto bat but become a rank-turner when Ashwin & Jadeja would come onto bowl. )

Ashwin & Jadeja must be the greatest spinners in history for taking so many wickets on dead pitches. Both should rank above Warne & Muralitharan.

I’m sure you would agree if you want to stay consistent with your logic for a change.

 

[Mobashir]

When Kohli scored thousands of runs in India during his golden period from 2015-2019, it was because the pitches were flat.

When Ashwin & Jadeja took heaps of wickets & won India so many matches on the same pitches, it was because the pitches were rank-turners.

It is funny how the pitch would automatically become flat when Kohli would come onto bat but become a rank-turner when Ashwin & Jadeja would come onto bowl. )

Ashwin & Jadeja must be the greatest spinners in history for taking so many wickets on dead pitches. Both should rank above Warne & Muralitharan.

I’m sure you would agree if you want to stay consistent with your logic for a change.

Every pitches were the same from 2015 to 2019?
Name 5 great innings by Kohli on rank turners during this period.

What about the 9.20 over 3 tests?
What about averages in west indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka?

 

[Cover Drive Six]

When Kohli scored thousands of runs in India during his golden period from 2015-2019, it was because the pitches were flat.

When Ashwin & Jadeja took heaps of wickets & won India so many matches on the same pitches, it was because the pitches were rank-turners.

It is funny how the pitch would automatically become flat when Kohli would come onto bat but become a rank-turner when Ashwin & Jadeja would come onto bowl. )

Ashwin & Jadeja must be the greatest spinners in history for taking so many wickets on dead pitches. Both should rank above Warne & Muralitharan.

I’m sure you would agree if you want to stay consistent with your logic for a change.

Kohli at peak scored multiple duble hundreds on Indian spin tracks, those pitches were not like Pakistan roads.

Babar at peak struggling to score a double hundrad on world flattest pitches.
Maharaja owned him on spin tracks, and completely exposed in recent Asia cup with single digit average on spin tracks.

Most of the cases he is walking wicket on tough conditions.
Batted like a tailender in recent t20 wc where pitches are difficult.

Enjoy the Babar era on roads.

 

[atreus]

Kohli's 200s are more impressive then Babar's long knocks for sure , however they were made against extremely weak down and out bowling lineups.

 

[IamIndian]

Kohli scored century in both innings of a test match once against Aus in Aus and scored a century and ninety against SA in SA once. Will Babar ever score century in each innings of a test match ? I doubt!

 

[Romali_rotti]

Babar will easily finish with the higher avg, the flat pancake dead phatta wickets that are served in Pakistan will ensure Babar finishes with the higher average.. Also Kohli sucks currently and can't score anywhere...

 

[Sidilicious]

Still Babar didn't averaged 9.20 over 3 tests at home and then he opted out of the 4th test.
Kohli averages in the 20's against spin over the past 3 years. And even when he was at his best he averaged 9.20 against Australia in 2017.

Never has Kohli scored a hundred on a rank turner as Babar did in Sri Lanka.
Kohli's average of 43 in Sri Lanka, 35 in West Indies and 14 in Bangladesh tells us how is plays spin.
Note that he has a useless 200 on a flat track in west indies, other wise his average would be around 25.

In India he also has many many failures, he scored the odd big ones on flat tracks.
He has always been a lesser test match batsman against spin that Root and Smith. Now even Babar is better than him.

How was SL a rank turner. The average per wicket on the 1st test was over 30? Matlab kuch bhi?

 

[Mamoon]

Every pitches were the same from 2015 to 2019?
Name 5 great innings by Kohli on rank turners during this period.

What about the 9.20 over 3 tests?
What about averages in west indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka?

No no, I agree with you. Whenever Kohli has scored in India, the pitches have been highways.

Between Jan 2015 & Dec 2019, Kohli averaged 77 at home. This was due to the flat pitches. There was no spin on offer.

On the same pitches, Ashwin averaged 22 with the ball & Jadeja averaged 21.

Ashwin & Jadeja are the greatest spinners in history for averaging 22 & 21 on flat wickets with no assistance for spinners.

Perhaps if Pakistan had someone half as good as them, they would not have been humiliated against Australia & England.

Please repeat after me: Ashwin & Jadeja are the greatest spinners in history for averaging 22 & 21 on flat wickets with no spin on offer.