Babar Azam is not overly flamboyant, opposite of Virat Kohli: Matthew Hayden

The Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam debate has been one of the hottest topics in the cricket world for a while. While the Indian skipper has already become a legend of the game, his Pakistan counterpart, who’s relatively younger and less experienced, has also been phenomenal in his brief career so far. Interestingly, both Kohli and Azam have similar playing styles. Hence, not drawing comparisons is almost impossible for fans and experts.

In a recent interaction, Matthew Hayden, Pakistan’s batting consultant for the T20 World Cup 2021, is the latest to give his opinion on the matter. Contrary to popular opinion, the former Australian opener feels Azam is the exact opposite of Kohli. Hayden asserted the fact that Kohli allows to express himself on the field while Azam is not ‘overly flamboyant.’

Virat Kohli is animated, Babar Azam has a wonderful temperament: Matthew Hayden

“Babar and his personality is, as you see is what you get. He is very consistent. He is very stable. He is not overly flamboyant. In fact, I would go as far as to say he is almost the opposite personality to someone like Virat Kohli, who is very animated, very passionate, and very boisterous on the field,” Hayden said while addressing the media.

“In fact, I would go as far as to say he is almost the opposite personality to someone like Virat Kohli, who is very animated, very passionate, and very boisterous on the field,” he added. Speaking about Babar’s traits as a batter, Hayden said the Pakistan skipper’s wonderful temperament allows him to perform consistently.

“He has great control and a wonderful temperament. Just to give you an insight into that talent, his ability to be able to consistently be able to react to the ball is second to none from what I’ve seen. He picks up the line and the length of the ball quicker than the average cricketer that is going around. That is the mark of someone that is a very fine player,” said the former left-handed batter.

Meanwhile, the T20 World Cup 2021 has been entirely different for Kohli and Azam. While India got knocked out of the league stage, Pakistan made it to the semi-finals with five wins on the trot. Azam will now lead his troop against Australia on November 11.