New Delhi: Former West Indies cricketer-turned-commentator Ian Bishop said that Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are the current batsmen who remind him mostly about Sachin Tendulkar. While Kohli has been a tremendous cricketer for India, Pakistan’s Azam is leading by example.
“Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, who in terms of the straight lines, you remember Sachin Tendulkar, there’s a reason why I think he was the best batsman I bowled to as he always played in the straight lines and these two guys (Kohli, Azam) present that,” Bishop told in an Instagram live session with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa.
Babar is the top-ranked T20I batsman while Kohli is ranked at No.1 in ODI rankings. He is also considered to be one of the finest batsmen in contemporary cricket and the only player to be among the top five ICC rankings across all formats in 2020.
Kohli is also at the second spot in the Test rankings. The right-handed batsman has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.63. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.
Meanwhile, Tendulkar finished his career with 100 international centuries and was the highest run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs. During the chat between Bishop and Mbangwa, the former also praised the current batch of fast bowlers.
“Jasprit Bumrah is a generational talent, the ability to adapt to all the formats is brilliant. Kagiso Rabada is someone I find impressive, the first time I saw him was in a T20I match and he was bowling to Keiron Pollard. I am seeing a fast bowling renaissance right now and it excites me,” Bishop said.
