Babar Is At Par With Kohli: Surinder Khanna

Former Indian cricketer Surinder Khanna believes Pakistani prolific batsman Babar Azam was at par with Indian Skipper Virat Kohli, saying the Green-shirts limited-overs captain would become more mature as a cricketer, if he continued playing like this

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2020 ):Former Indian cricketer Surinder Khanna believes Pakistani prolific batsman Babar Azam was at par with Indian Skipper Virat Kohli, saying the Green-shirts limited-overs captain would become more mature as a cricketer, if he continued playing like this.

"Babar has fans in India as well and, bearing in mind his technique, he is at par with Kohli. It is now a matter of consistency, as Kohli has been doing it for past 10-12 years, and if Babar can continue to play like this he will become more mature as a cricketer," cricketpakistan.com.pk quoted him as saying.

Khanna, who is also one of the members of the IPL governing council, feels participation of Pakistani players in IPL would be appreciated by fans and players on both sides of the border. He also heaped praise on Babar and Shaheen.

"As far as Pakistan cricketers' participation in IPL is concerned, I can assure you that the players from both sides always want to compete with each other. But we need to follow the advisory from the government, whether you like it or not. This is something which is out of our control. Who would not want to see terrific Babar Azam bat or the young pacer Shaheen Afridi bowl in the IPL?" he said.

He was also impressed with the way Haider Ali performed on his T20 debut against England, in the recently concluded series.

"The other day, I was watching another young batsman [Haider Ali] against England. It was so nice to see him hit the ball so cleanly while also being technically sound," he said.

Khanna also believed that the participation of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, would be appreciated by fans and players on both sides of the border.

"As far as Pakistan cricketers' participation in IPL is concerned, I can assure you that the players from both sides always want to compete with each other. But we need to follow the advisory from the government, whether you like it or not. This is something which is out of our control. Who would not want to see terrific Babar Azam bat or the young pacer Shaheen Afridi bowl in the IPL?"The 64-year-old also backed the idea of a match between IPL and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions, if relations between the two countries improve.

"It is very good idea to play matches between the champions of IPL and PSL but this can't materialise. People all over the world want to see matches between Pakistan and India and hopefully things will move in a positive direction in the near future," he said.