It’s not an everyday thing when you come across a player like Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper is surely a player of a millennium. When Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008 and was coming through the ranks, Pakistan compared Umar Akmal to be their Kohli. But after a bunch of inconsistent performances and temperament issues, he soon faded away from public memory. Ahmed Shehzad, the former Pakistani opener, was then compared with Kohli. Shehzad’s mannerisms too started mirroring that of Kohli but his on-field performances didn’t match up to the stature of Virat Kohli.
Pakistani fans finally found hope in their current batting sensation and skipper across all formats, Babar Azam. Azam is someone who has made an instant impression in the minds of the cricket-loving public. His stroke-making is pleasing to the eyes and his records speak for him. As he is often compared to king Kohli, Stumpsandbails lists out 5 records of Kohli which Azam can break shortly.
#5 Fastest to 8000 ODI runs:
Babar Azam has notched up 3,580 runs in 77 ODI’s at an outstanding average of 55.94. Azam has amassed 12 centuries and 16 fifties in the 75 ODI innings he has got to bat. The Kohli milestone which lies in front of Azam is the 8000 run mark which Kohli had reached in just 175 innings. If Azam continues in the same vein, he should easily surpass Kohli’s 8000 ODI run milestone.
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#4 Most double centuries as Test Captain:
Virat Kohli’s tryst with double centuries in Test cricket is quite peculiar. He didn’t have a single double hundred to his name before becoming the captain of the Test team. And post becoming one, Kohli went on a double century hitting spree notching up 7 double hundreds in the process. This is one record that will surely take some beating as Azam is yet to score a single double hundred as a Pakistani captain. But you never say never.
#3 Fastest to 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year:
Virat Kohli has set some insane records when it comes to ODI cricket. Even then this record is a pretty daunting one to break. Virat Kohli crossed 1000 ODI runs in 2018 in just 11 innings. He was in the form of his life and was in a terrific run making form. It will take some doing from Azam to overhaul this record. Ideally, he will be scoring 100 runs on an average in 10 innings to emerge the fastest to 1000 runs in an ODI calendar year.
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#2 Most ODI centuries as captain in a calendar year:
Apart from setting some insurmountable records in the ODI format, Kohli also has to his name certain wonderful milestones which are pretty difficult to break. Kohli scored 6 ODI centuries in 2017 and 2018, this is something that will surely challenge Babar Azam. He needs to be in fine touch right throughout the year to have such a glorious run.
#1 Most centuries in ODI run-chases:
World cricket has not seen a better ODI chaser than Virat Kohli. Babar Azam has got the best in front of him to overcome when he sets his eye on this record. Virat Kohli has smashed 26 centuries up until now while chasing while Babar Azam has scored 3 centuries in run-chases. So he has a tall ask in front of him to overcome Kohli’s brilliant run-chase record.
