For much of the last decade, Babar Azam has lived under the shadow of one of the modern game’s greatest, Virat Kohli. Every fluent cover drive, every classy knock, every run chase seemed to invite the same conversation: Is Babar Pakistan’s answer to Kohli? That narrative has come to haunt the former Pakistan skipper big time.
Struggling Babar Azam for Pakistan
Once hailed as the flagbearer of Pakistan’s batting, Babar has been enduring a prolonged slump. His last century came nearly two years ago, against Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023, an innings of 151 that seemed to be a bashing of the minnows. Having said that, it proved to be the last of its kind.
Since then, the 30-year-old has gone 72 innings without a century across formats, scoring 2139 runs at an average of 31.45 with 18 half-centuries. In 2025 alone, he’s played 17 innings for 518 runs at an average of 30.47, without a single triple-figure score. For context, Salman Ali Agha has scored the most international runs for Pakistan so far this year and he has mustered 857 runs.
Babar Azam (2025) stats
| Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 0s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 518 | 81 | 30.47 | 66.41 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Former Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad believes that constant comparisons with Kohli have been central to Babar’s struggles.
“When everything was going well, you were running campaigns comparing players. Now that the performances are not coming, you are saying ‘don’t compare two players’. Why not? Virat Kohli’s comparison cannot be made with anyone in the world. He is a legend of this generation, a role model. You cannot compare him even with MS Dhoni. Dhoni may have been a great captain, but as a batter, cricketer, and athlete, Kohli stands alone. No one should be compared with anyone because it’s unfair and it adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam,” Shehzad told GeoSuper.
The numbers back Shehzad’s issues with Babar. Since his last ton in 2023, Babar’s Test returns have been particularly bleak, having scored just 590 runs from 25 innings at 23.60. In limited overs, his strike rate has been under the scanner as well, with both he and Mohammad Rizwan the only batters from full-member nations to score below 80 since 2024.
The fall has been as much about perception as performance. Babar is no longer Pakistan’s captain in any format, having stepped down earlier this year amid criticism over results and his own form. The recent ODI series in the West Indies, where Pakistan suffered a crushing 202-run defeat to concede their first bilateral series to the Caribbean side in 34 years, Babar made 54 runs at 18.67.
