Former Indian Cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has shared his views on the comparison between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, who have been often compared against each other over their skillset in the game. The debate about the India-Pakistan game has just grown with Asia Cup 2023 about to begin on August 30.

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam have often been compared thanks to the similarity between their batting styles,  While the star Indian batter has been an outright superstar in the game, Babar Azam does seem to have taken the lead in the last couple of years or so.

During a discussion with Star Sports, Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Virat Kohli has been one of the modern greats in the international circuit scoring runs for India, while Babar Azam has been on par with the Indian batting maestro in the 50-over format of the game.

“Yes, both very good players. One is obviously in his prime younger but coming to this kind of platform we want to say Virat Kohli and see with the format that we have here not the T20 format, Asia Cup this time round you might just see a bit of Babar Azam, and maybe show his place as well,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.

Babar Azam is already the next big thing in International cricket, as he was often compared with Virat Kohli. He made his debut in 2015 and since then has gone on to break numerous records in white-ball cricket, as he impressed everyone with his consistency in performing in all three formats of the game against high-quality opponents.

Virat Kohli has dominated the game for over a decade or so. The 34-year-old has been spearheading India’s batting attack in all three formats of the game. On the other hand, Babar Azam has been an exceptional performer for men in green in all three formats since his debut for Pakistan.

Both players will be crucial for their team’s success in the Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023, as their form would be important for their respective teams in the marquee event.

The six-nation Asia Cup, which will be played in a 50-over format will be played from August 3oth to September 17th, has grouped India and Pakistan with Nepal. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are included in the other group. The final will be one of a total of 13 games that will be played in the tournament to decide the winner of the marquee event.