Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli | Stats Comparison [Updated: 2022]

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli: When it comes to limited-overs cricket, two of the biggest names that come to everyone’s mind are Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. Although certain political turmoils have resulted in the blockage of bilateral series between the nations, it never caused a hindrance to the mutual excitement and passion of the fans. In this article, we will have a thorough inspection of Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam stats across all formats, including List A, First Class Cricket, and captaincy records.

Teams Represented

Virat Kohli

Indian National Team, Delhi, India A, India Blue, India Red, India Emerging Players, India Under-19, Indian Board Presidents XI, North Zone, ONGC, Rest Of India, Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Babar Azam

Pakistan National Team, Baluchistan, Central Punjab, Faisalabad & Rawalpindi, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Islamabad, Islamabad Region, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore, Lahore Blues, Leopards, Pakistan A, Pakistan Under 15, Pakistan Under 19, Pakistan Cricket Board Blues, Pakistan Under 23, Punjab, Rangpur Riders, Rawalpindi Rams, Somerset, State Bank of Pakistan, Sui Southern Gas Corporation, Sydney Sixers, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli Stats Comparison across Formats

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in Test Matches

Virat Kohli made his test debut against West Indies on 20th June 2011 at the Kingston. Babar Azam too played his first match in the longest format on October 13th, 2016. His debut came in Dubai, Pakistan cricket’s then temporary home.

If we closely focus on the statistics we will find a huge edge in favor of Virat Kohli. Although, that is because he has played more than his counterpart. Babar Azam has played 40 test matches so far. Virat leads in both strike rate and averages too. Virat has 27 centuries in Test cricket compared to Babar’s only 6. However, Virat’s last test century came way back in 2019. Despite playing 100 innings less, Babar Azam has 21 half-centuries to his name, compared to Virat’s 28.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in ODIs

Virat Kohli made his ODI debut much earlier than Babar Azam. His debut came in Dambulla against Sri Lanka on 18th August 2008. Babar Azam made his first ODI appearance at home in Lahore, on 31st May 2015.

Virat Kohli is considered one of the greatest ODI players of all time. The only man coming close to Virat is probably Sachin Tendulkar. Virat’s ODI career is something that everyone dreams of. He scored 12311 runs in this format with an average of 58.07. Virat has 43 centuries and only the little master comes ahead (49 ODI Tons). The cricket fans across the entire world want Virat to be back in form and also they believe if someone can touch the mammoth record set up by the God of Cricket, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, it is none other than Virat Kohli.

Babar on the other hand overtook Virat Kohli in terms of average. He too is an exceptional batsman when it comes to the longer white-ball format and this average justifies his case. Although he has a mountain to climb, 16 centuries in 84 innings is in itself a huge achievement.

Liking the analysis? Also, look at KL Rahul vs Virat Kohli.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in T20Is

The Pakistani captain made his debut in the shortest format on 7th September 2016. That came against England at the Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester. Virat Kohli’s T20i debut came against Zimbabwe in Harare, on 12th June 2010.

Here we see a close fight between Babar and Virat, but here also in terms of statistics, there is a slight edge to Virat Kohli. Virat has more average & strike rate than Babar. But in T20 Babar Azam has hit two centuries compared to one from Virat. Apart from this, we see an intense tussle between these two megastars and it is hard to separate this two.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in First-Class cricket

Virat Kohli made his first-class debut 16 years ago in Delhi vs Delhi. The 18- year old first took on the pitch on 23rd November 2006. Babar Azam made his first-class debut against ZTBL in Sialkot, the event coming on a winter day on December 10th, 2010.

Here also the record of Virat is huge and mammoth. Virat has more than 10,000 runs in first-class Cricket whereas Babar has nearly about 5000 runs. Here also Virat leads in terms of Average and Strike Rates. Virat has 34 Tons in first-class compared to Babar’s 9.

Also read: KL Rahul vs Babar Azam.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli in List-A

Virat Kohli’s List-A debut came against Services in Delhi, on 18th February 2006. On the other hand, Babar Azam made his List-A debut against ZTBL in Multan, on 10th February 2010.

Virat has played close to 300 matches whereas Babar played 150. Virat scored more than 13000 runs and Babar is in the 7000s range. Kohli has 47 centuries and Babar has 26. Both have neck to neck averages of 56. Babar has played less number of matches than Virat but his records are indeed eye-catching. His records show he has every potential to be one of the greats and he is slowly but steadily achieving it.

Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli Comparison in Captaincy

So far Team Analystique has compared Virat and Babar’s batting statistics. Now focus will be given to their captaincy records. Virat has been leading the side since 2014 and recently he has relieved himself from captaincy across all formats to focus more on batting. On the other hand, Babar has become the captain in 2020 and has successfully led his team till now.

Test matches

Virat Kohli is considered to be one of the greatest Indian Test Captains. Under his tenure, India has won the Test series twice in Australia, and England (2-1 leading, one match to be played in June/July 2022) and produced sensational performances overseas. Also, India is now almost unbeatable in Tests at home condition. Under Virat’s captaincy, India remained at the top position in the ICC ranking for the longest time. Virat has won 40 out of 68 matches, which is a sensational achievement. Under his reign, India became the runner in ICC Men’s Test Championship. On the other hand, Babar Azam is new as Test Captain and only acted as a skipper in 11 matches. But he also has a marvelous win percentage (63.63%) and won 7 out of 11 Tests. He is only in the earlier phase of his captaincy tenure. So very hard to compare.

One day internationals

In ODI comparison is almost impossible as Babar is very new as a skipper and only acted as captain in 9 matches. Whereas Virat has been in charge as a captain on 95 matches with 65 wins in his tally. Virat has a massive win percentage (68.42%) and till now Babar has a win percentage of 44.44%.

T-20 Internationals

In T20 Babar Azam has more win % than Virat Kohli. But both failed to win any ICC event in their captaincy tenure. Under Virat, India has won the T20 series in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, and West Indies. Babar Azam was named captain of the ICC Men’s T20 team of the year in 2021.

CONCLUSION

So far, a detailed statistical analysis between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam has been portrayed which includes their performances both as a batter and skipper. Though if you compare Virat looks to be way ahead but one thing is to be remembered Virat is much more experienced than Babar and playing for much longer. Babar came up as his competitor for the last few years only. Virat is now 33 years old whereas Babar is only 27. Lots of Cricketing years are ahead of Babar and he has every potential to reach where Virat is now in terms of Statistics. Experts consider both as gems of cricket and the cricket fraternity should enjoy the brilliance of these two champions as they prosper even further.

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