Mudassar Nazar has termed the comparison between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as nonsense, saying the Pakistan captain will take time to reach the level of India captain. (More Cricket News)
Nazar, a former Pakistan batsman, said that his country "dearly need(s) a hero they can believe in" and "Azam has all the capabilities to make them happy."
But the 64-year-old asked the supporter and pundits to stop comparing Azam to Kohli.
"For some strange reason, many keep on comparing him to Virat Kohli which is nonsense because right now, the only comparison of Kohli is with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar," Nazar told PakPassion.net.
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Azam himself played down comparisons with Kohli, saying it is not wise to do so as they are "different" kinds of players.
Talking about Azam's prospects, Nazar said that the Pakistan captain "will continue to grow and become a great himself, but it will take time."
Nazar also believes that Azam "has the confidence to take on any bowling attack as he did against Dale Steyn who has fantastic outswing, and Babar was in complete command against him. He has already got a Test hundred in Australia and should he get another in England later this summer then he would be all set to move to greater heights in future."
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Azam, 25, has so far played 26 Tests, 74 ODIs and 38 T20Is, scoring 1850, 3359 and 1471 runs respectively. The right-handed batsman has 16 international centuries.
In contrast, Kohli, 31, has played 86 Tests, 248 ODIs and 82 T20Is, scoring 7240, 11867 and 2794 runs respectively. He has 70 international tons, which is third most in the all-time list, only behind Tendulkar's 100 and Ricky Ponting's 71.
