“Babar Azam can easily surpass Virat Kohli” – Imran Khan’s bold prediction for Pakistan captain ahead of 2023 ODI World Cup

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has made a bold prediction for Babar Azam ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. The 1992 World Cup-winning captain believes that the Lahore-born cricketer can eclipse former Indian captain Virat Kohli if he continues to deliver in his career.

Interestingly, the Pakistan batter is nowhere near Kohli, who has amassed 25,322 runs in international cricket (497 matches), including 75 tons. Babar, who is six years younger than Kohli, has, so far, scored 12,270 runs in 251 games, including 30 centuries.

Speaking to a local sports journalist, as quoted by Cricket Pakistan, Imran Khan said:

“I haven't recently seen cricket, but I believe that Virat Kohli and Babar Azam belong to the same class. Babar Azam can easily surpass Virat Kohli. He is that good, from what I have seen.”

For the uninitiated, Babar recently shone during the New Zealand tour of Pakistan. The right-handed batter amassed 276 runs in five ODIs, including a century and two half-centuries, as Pakistan won the series 4-1. The 28-year-old also smashed 101* during the five-match T20I series, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

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List of records held by Babar Azam

Babar Azam, who made his international debut in 2015, holds a plethora of records across formats. The Lahore-born cricketer holds the record for scoring the most runs in a series. He amassed 1,454 runs during the 2020-2023 ICC World Cup Super League.

During the Super League, the opening batter also smashed six centuries, the most in the tournament. He also holds the record for the most consecutive fifties in international cricket (9).

Babar recently broke Virat Kohli’s record for the fastest to 5,000 runs in ODIs. He reached the landmark in just 97 innings compared to Kohli's 114. In the process, he also eclipsed Hashim Amla (101) and Vivian Richards (114).

The Pakistan captain recently equaled the Delhi batter for the fastest to 3,000 runs in T20Is (81 innings).

While surpassing Kohli’s ODI and Test figures will be an uphill task for Babar, he is just 523 runs behind Kohli (4,008) for the most runs in T20Is.