“Definitely Virat and Babar” - AB de Villiers on his top contenders for leading run-getters in Asia Cup 2023

AB de Villiers has backed Virat Kohli and Babar Azam to be among the leading run-getters in Asia Cup 2023. According to the former South African captain, none of the batters from Sri Lanka or the other participating nations have shown as much consistency as Kohli and Babar.

The superstars of the modern era will come face to face when India meet Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Saturday, September 2 in Pallekele.

In a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, De Villiers was asked to predict who he thinks would be the leading run-scorer in the Asia Cup as well as the World Cup.

“My favorites for Asia Cup definitely Virat and Babar. I haven’t seen a lot of the Sri Lankans or other players in incredible form. That’s where Virat and Babar are different. When they score runs, they score 130s-150s. They really knuckle down. I think we would see their names up there and I would be pleasantly surprised to see someone else up there,” he said.

On the ODI World Cup, which will be played in India in October-November, De Villiers opined that the leading run-getter would be determined on the basis of the form the players are in heading into the tournament.

“It’s a tough one. I am not really sure. There are a lot of guys that can do it. We look at guys who are in form - Babar, Kane Williamson. Obviously, Virat will be up there somewhere along the line. Virat absolutely loves 50-over cricket. His name will be up there for sure,” the South African added.

Rohit Sharma was the leading run-getter in the 2019 World Cup. He amassed 648 runs in nine matches at an average of 81, with five hundreds.

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“He’s a huge player for Pakistan” - De Villiers on Shaheen Afridi

During his interaction, De Villiers also opened up on the significance of left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi to the Pakistan team. The fast bowler picked up a couple of wickets in the Asia Cup 2023 opener against Nepal but did not look at his best.

Reviewing Afridi’s performance, the former Proteas skipper commented:

“Not quite the same rhythm we have seen from Shaheen Afridi in the past. I don’t know if he’s a little bit undercooked or if there’s a tiny little injury. May be he is just saving his energy for when it matters most. He may be trying to find a little bit of rhythm knowing there are much bigger games coming up. He’s a huge player for Pakistan.”

Shaheen registered figures of 2/27 from five overs against Nepal as Pakistan won the Asia Cup opener by 238 runs.