Virat Kohli is a legend, no one should compare Babar Azam to him: Ahmed Shahzad

01/07/2024

Veteran Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shahzad has hailed Virat Kohli as a legend, saying that no one should compare Pakistani captain Babar Azam to the Indian great.Babar and Virat crossed paths during the T20 World Cup 2024 group match where India defeated Pakistan by 6 runs before winning the T20 World Cup. Kohli, Player of the Match in the final, went past Babar in the T20I run-scoring list and equalled the Pakistan captain's record for the most fifty-plus scores in T20Is, before calling time on his T20I career.

Shahzad, who has time and again expressed his admiration for the Indian star, said that India would not have won the T20 World Cup final without Virat Kohli's 76-run innings."Virat Kohli is a legend of our generation. Every time he stepped on the field, he played the game with the same enthusiasm. Even in his last T20I, Virat was celebrating at long-on and long-off whenever a wicket fell. He did not score runs in the entire T20 World Cup, but when things are written in your destiny, you will get them. He scored runs in the final when nobody else stood up with the bat. India would never have won the T20 World Cup final without Virat Kohli's innings. He is leaving a great legacy in the T20Is. Good luck to Indian Cricket trying to fill his massive shoes. No one should compare Babar Azam or any other cricketer to him," Ahmed Shahzad told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

Kohli had a tough tournament with the bat, opening the innings for India alongside captain Rohit Sharma. Despite failing to score a fifty in the earlier matches, he rose to the occasion in the crucial final, stabilizing the innings after early setbacks and helping India reach a competitive total. In the final, Kohli was one of the standout performers, scoring an impressive 76 after India faced a top-order collapse in the Powerplay. His crucial innings helped India post a total of 176/7. The Indian seamers then delivered a heroic performance, securing a narrow victory and ending the country's 11-year wait for an ICC title.

Shortly after India lifted the T20 World Cup in Bridgetown on Saturday afternoon, Virat Kohli announced his decision to retire from Twenty20 Internationals. Moving forward, Kohli is expected to focus on red-ball cricket. Renowned as one of the greats of Test cricket, Kohli has amassed 8,848 runs, including 29 centuries. His highest score of 254 not out came against South Africa during the 2019 World Test Championship, a match India won by an innings and 137 runs.

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