Former Indian cricketer Nayan Mongia stated that Babar Azam is “not even close” to Virat Kohli ahead of the Pakistan-India match of the T20 World Cup 2024 which is to be played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 9.
Mongia, who represented India in 184 international matches, said that Babar has not been performing at his best for quite some time now and the comparisons with Kohli are not justified.
"His batting has been stumbling for the last few years. He is looking out of form. He is putting too much pressure on himself, that he has to stay there and make a big score for the team. If he takes pressure like this and the team doesn't support him in batting and fielding, mental pressure definitely comes on every batter," Mongia told Star Sports.
"Pressure has been put on him that he is the best batter and has to stay there and score big. You compare him with Virat Kohli and he is not even close to Virat Kohli. So, the pressure is on Babar Azam and the Pakistan team that till he fires, everything is fine, but if he gets out, Pakistan's batting collapses," he added.
In the match against the United States, which Pakistan lost in the Super Over, Babar Azam scored 44 runs on 43 balls as the Green Shirts managed to post a 160-run target for the home side which they managed to level on the last ball of the innings.
Mongia also talked about Pakistan batters' inability to perform at wickets that favour the bowlers saying that they lack skills.
"Fast bowlers have taken wickets here and spinners have taken wickets in the West Indies. So, the fast bowlers will be on top here. You will need skills as a batter here. If you compare Pakistan and India, the Indian batters have more skill. I always believe that Pakistan's skill-set is very less for such wickets," he said.
