Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal said that Babar Azam will become a bigger player than Virat Kohli when he returns to form. Babar hasn’t had the best of times in international and domestic cricket. Currently playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025, Babar has scored only one run from two games at an average of 0.50.
Mohammad Amir and Ben Dwarshuis have dismissed him thus far. The Kings’ owner said that Babar will be compared with the likes of Viv Richards and Gary Sobers when he makes his comeback.
“When Babar Azam makes a comeback again, he will be a bigger player than any other player in the world, including Virat Kohli. He will be matched with names like Gary Sobers and Sir Viv Richards,” Iqbal said via ARY Podcast.
Babar Azam going through rough patch
Babar hasn’t scored a hundred since his 151-run knock against Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 match at the Multan Cricket Stadium. After the ODI World Cup the same year where Pakistan failed to qualify for the semis, Babar stepped down as captain across all three formats.
Before the T20 World Cup last year in the West Indies and USA, Babar returned as captain in the limited-overs formats. But after Pakistan failed to go beyond the league stage, he again stepped down as skipper. His approach with the bat was also questioned.
Babar also didn’t find a place in Pakistan’s T20I squad for their five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag had also said that Babar didn’t deserve a place in the Pakistan T20I team.
Under Babar, Zalmi have lost both their matches this season and are languishing at the bottom of the table with a net run rate of -4.550.
Zalmi will next be up against Mohammad Rizwan’s Multan Sultans on Saturday, April 19 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
