India versus Pakistan is one of the most fiercely contested matches in world cricket. The titanic clash between the two rival nations has produced some classic matches over the years.
The two cricketing powerhouses have always boasted of having some of the best batsmen in the world.
While India can brag about players like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and more, Pakistan had players like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, and Inzamam-Ul-Haq.
The batsmen from both sides have always been pitted against each other to further spice up the rivalry. The current generation too has been no exception to this norm as fans often make comparisons between arguably the best batsmen in their respective countries, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
So let us find out who among Kohli and Azam is the greatest batsman. It has to be noted that Kohli, being the senior one, started his career almost half a decade before his rival.
Being the senior one, Virat Kohli made his international Test debut in 2011, five years before Babar Azam. The former Indian skipper has played more than 100 Test matches in his career scoring 8416 runs.
In ODIs, Kohli has close to 13,000 runs, 8000 more than Azam’s tally. In T20Is, though, the Pakistani batsman is slowly closing on his rival despite starting his career six years after the Indian star.
In Tests
| Player | Matches | Runs | S.R | Highest Score | Avg. |
| Virat Kohli | 108 | 8416 | 55.32 | 254* | 48.93 |
| Babar Azam | 47 | 3697 | 55.02 | 196 | 48.63 |
In ODIs
| Player | Matches | Runs | S.R | Highest Score | Avg. |
| Virat Kohli | 274 | 12,898 | 93.62 | 183 | 57.32 |
| Babar Azam | 95 | 4813 | 89.03 | 158 | 59.41 |
In T20Is
| Player | Matches | Runs | S.R | Highest Score | Avg. |
| Virat Kohli | 115 | 4008 | 137.96 | 122* | 52.73 |
| Babar Azam | 102 | 3466 | 127.81 | 122 | 41.02 |
When it comes to scoring centuries in international cricket, Virat Kohli is only second to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar is the only batsman in the history of the sport to score 100 international centuries. Kohli is currently 25 short of the legend’s tally.
In terms of overall international centuries, Babar Azam is nowhere close to the Indian’s record as he has 29 hundreds to his name. Although, the Pakistani skipper has scored more T20I centuries than the former Indian captain.
In Tests
| Player | Matches | Centuries |
| Virat Kohli | 108 | 28 |
| Babar Azam | 47 | 9 |
In ODIs
| Player | Matches | Centuries |
| Virat Kohli | 274 | 46 |
| Babar Azam | 95 | 17 |
In T20Is
| Player | Matches | Centuries |
| Virat Kohli | 115 | 1 |
| Babar Azam | 101 | 3 |
Virat Kohli has scored seven double centuries in Test matches, the most among Indian batsmen.
Babar Azam, on the other hand, is yet to score a double hundred.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Double centuries |
| Virat Kohli | 108 | 8416 | 7 |
| Babar Azam | 47 | 3497 | 0 |
Virat Kohli has appeared in three ODI World Cups to date where he played 26 matches and scored 1030 runs. Babar Azam, on the other hand, has played only one World Cup in 2019 where in eight matches he scored 474 runs.
In T20I World Cups once again Virat Kohli has the upper hand, as he scored 1141 runs in 25 matches spanning over four editions. Babar Azam has played only two T20I World Cups where he appeared in 13 matches and scored 427 runs.
In ODI World Cups
| Player | Editions | Matches | Runs | Avg. | S.R | H.S |
| Virat Kohli | 2011, 2015, 2019 | 26 | 1030 | 46.81 | 86.70 | 107 |
| Babar Azam | 2019 | 8 | 474 | 67.71 | 87.77 | 101* |
In T20 World Cups
| Player | Editions | Matches | Runs | Avg. | S.R | H.S |
| Virat Kohli | 2012, 2016, 2021, 2022 | 25 | 1141 | 81.50 | 131.30 | 89* |
| Babar Azam | 2021, 2022 | 13 | 427 | 35.58 | 114.48 | 70 |
The Indian star was part of the last two ICC trophies that the Men in Blue won. He won both the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. With India, he last reached the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2021-23 World Test Championship.
Babar Azam, on the other hand, has not won an ICC trophy yet in his career but he did lead Pakistan to the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
| Virat Kohli | Trophy | Babar Azam |
| 1 | ODI World Cup | 0 |
| 1 | ICC Champions Trophy | 0 |
| 0 | T20 World Cup | 0 |
| 0 | World Test Championship | 0 |
| 0 | Domestic T20 trophy (IPL/PSL) | 1 |
| 1 | Total | 1 |
When it comes to individual awards presented by ICC, Virat Kohli has the Men’s Cricketer of the Year award twice, Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year thrice and Test Cricketer of the Year once.
Compared to him, his rival Babar Azam has won three ICC awards to date, the Men’s Cricketer of the Year award once and the Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year accolade twice.
| Virat Kohli | Award | Babar Azam |
| 2 | Men’s Cricketer of the Year | 1 |
| 1 | Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | 0 |
| 3 | Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | 2 |
| 0 | Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | 0 |
| 0 | Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year | 0 |
| 6 | Total | 3 |
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