‘Only Babar Azam, Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar…’: Ex-India player makes big comparison ahead of PAK-ENG T20 WC final

A former India cricketer compared Babar Azam to Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar ahead of Pakistan's upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 final vs England.

Under heavy criticism from all corners, Babar Azam will be aiming to build on his new-found moment during Pakistan's upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 final against England, scheduled for Sunday at the MCG in Melbourne. The Pakistan captain bounced back to form during the semi-finals and helped his side defeat New Zealand by seven wickets in Sydney. Chasing a target of 153 runs, Pakistan reached 153 for three in 19.2 overs, with openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar putting in a fantastic batting display.

Babar Azam gestures with his bat on scoring 50 runs during the T20 World Cup cricket semifinal between New Zealand and Pakistan in Sydney.(AP)

Rizwan hammered 57 runs off 43 balls, including five fours. Meanwhile, Babar slammed 53 runs off 42 balls with a strike rate of 126.19, packed with seven fours. Babar's knock in the semi-final was in stark contrast to his form in the Super 12 Stage, where he mustered only 39 runs off 63 balls, with a strike rate of 61.90.

Since his performance in the semi-final, the 28-year-old has once again got everyone's support and even former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja compared the stylish batter to Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar in a recent analysis with Cricbuzz. Jadeja also pointed out that Babar's form was due to problems different from other players in his team and called him a 'great' player.

"Well, it is special. It is special more mentally and what you just mentioned, the pressure on that man, because numbers are there, that is not something not new, because he is used to scoring runs. It is just that in the last four-five games, he hasn't scored runs and he hasn't shown you anything different from his game. When you look at the strike rate, people who have strike rate problems, they will still have a problem because it's still at 121 or whatever the number is. The biggest strength is his mindset because to have that pressure of being captain of the side, not scoring runs, the team is not getting anywhere. It is about fighting yourself, when outside noise says so. But it is the inside noise which actually worries you more", he said.

"The great players actually don't worry about outside noise. You heard from Virat Kohli, the other day, after his break when he came back. What was it, it wasn't the outside noise. It was about the noise that was inside. The reason these guys are great players or special players in the world are because these are not ordinary people. So they have problems which are not ordinary like all of us can feel. So it was more about his own thing and if he has been able to overcome, then Zaheer made a great point that sometimes the occasion is so big that you tend to forget what is happening inside you. You just go out there, feel it. Things worked for him, catch dropped, total they were chasing was something they felt confident about. So when things start falling in place for you then that same inside noise says, "today is my day"."

"Only Babar Azam, Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar in the past, or people like that will understand what pressure is. Ordinary players have different kinds of pressure. Their pressure is about if they will be in the team and if their place is secured or not, which is a much smaller pressure. The pressure is when everybody in the world things that you should be doing it, your country feels that you are the best, but you inside are struggling to score runs. So that is a much tougher pressure to get out of, and champions are made in these conditions. They are made because they are tested time and again", he further added.

Initially during the semi-final, New Zealand posted 152 for four in 20 overs, with Daryl Mitchell smacking an unbeaten knock of 53 runs off 35 balls. Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz were in good bowling form, bagging two and one wickets each respectively. In the other semi-final, England cruised to a 10-wicket victory against India. Chasing a target of 169 runs, England raced to 170 for no loss in 16 overs, courtesy of some swashbuckling batting by Alex Hales and Jos Buttler. Hales clobbered an unbeaten knock of 86 runs off 47 balls and Buttler registered an unbeaten knock of 80 runs off 49 balls.