NEW DELHI: The comparisons between Pakistan batsman Babar Azam and India’s batting stalwart Virat Kohli have persisted for a long time. Whenever Babar finds form, scores runs or leads his team to victory, comparisons with Kohli flood social media, especially among Pakistan fans. However, former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has dismissed these comparisons, saying the Pakistan star is overhyped.“Look, he is a good player, there is no doubt about it. I personally like him a lot. But I feel he has got more hype than he should have. He has been criticized to such an extent that he has been compared to Virat Kohli, he has been called ‘king’ (Look, he is a good player, there’s no doubt about that. I personally like him a lot. But I feel he has been hyped beyond his limits. He was elevated so much that comparisons with Virat Kohli began, and he started being called ‘king’),” Jaffer said in a video posted on his social media handle.“When you are repeatedly compared with Virat Kohli, the media calls you ‘king’, the pressure automatically comes. I think at some point they tried to make him like Virat – or to perform the way Virat did for the Indian team. But Virat is Virat – one of the greatest players of this generation. These unnecessary comparisons put pressure on him. (When you are constantly compared to Virat Kohli and the media calls you ‘king’, pressure automatically builds. I feel that somewhere he tried to become like Virat – or tried to perform the way Virat has for the Indian team. But Virat is Virat – one of the greatest players of this generation. These unnecessary comparisons kept adding pressure on him),” he added.Babar had been going through a lean patch, struggling for runs, but made a strong comeback by scoring a century for Peshawar Zalmi against Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. He brought up his hundred in just 52 balls.Babar last represented Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he endured a poor run with the bat – one of the reasons behind Pakistan’s disappointing campaign in the tournament. He scored just 91 runs in six matches at an average of 22.75 and a strike rate of 112.34, as Pakistan failed to progress beyond the Super Eights stage.When asked about the reasons behind Babar’s dip despite being a highly skilful batsman and a cricketing icon in Pakistan, Jaffer said: “In my opinion, what you did was – one too overhype and comparison, and another captaincy. At his captaincy, he was not able to build the kind of team he should have. Their chances were there, the team even reached the finals – World Cup final, Asia Cup final – but Pakistan cricket could not reach the next level consistently (In my view, there were two reasons – one was overhype and comparisons, and the other was captaincy. As a captain, he couldn’t build the kind of team he should have. He had opportunities, the team even reached finals – World Cup final, Asia Cup final – but he couldn’t consistently take Pakistan cricket to the next level).”“Even today, without a doubt, he is one of Pakistan’s best batters. He has both talent and class. It’s just that if he had handled expectations and pressure a bit better, the picture could have been very different),” Jaffer said.
