Javed Miandad advises Babar Azam amid Virat Kohli comparisons

Former Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad has advised Babar Azam amid growing comparisons with Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Babar rose to number nine in International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Rankings after his century in the drawn Rawalpindi Test against Sri Lanka.

“Babar is a phenomenal batsman but he has to continue performing for his country. From my experience I can say that I would never worry about comparisons with any other player but continue performing well for my country. My bat would do the talking and I suggest Babar do the same,” said Miandad while talking to pakpassion.net.

“The only time to compare oneself to another is after you have scored enough runs and you can look back at your career with pride. There is no point talking about comparisons ahead of time. My advice to Babar Azam is, don't worry about comparisons, just put your head down, score heavily and work hard,” he added.  

The former Pakistan captain was also against the decision of handing over Pakistan’s Twenty20 International (T20I) captaincy to Babar Azam.  

“Babar should have been made vice-captain which would have given him breathing space to learn the tricks of the trade. By making him T20I captain, we may have added too much pressure on his batting which could backfire on Pakistan,” he said.

Sri Lanka coach Arthur happy after Babar's century

Speaking about Pakistan’s head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq’s dual role, Miandad advised Misbah to seek help if he wishes to effectively execute his duties

“I am a firm believer that coaching is not about speaking good English but actually knowing what is expected from this role as I showed during my time when I used a marble slab to help players prepare for overseas tours. I feel that Misbah can do this job too as he has the capability, but he will need help from 3 or 4 other experts who can guide him to take the right decisions and take the pressure off him,” he said.

Pakistan are currently taking part in a two-match Test series, on home soil, against Sri Lanka with the second encounter scheduled to begin on December 19 at the National Stadium in Karachi. The first Test in Rawalpindi ended in a draw after the match was regularly interrupted due to bad weather.