KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain and legenary all-rounder Shahid Afridi termed star batter Babar Azam as the best cover drive operator in the world.

Shahid Afridi, while speaking to a local TV channel here was asked to share his opinion regarding the long-standing debate as to who plays the best cover drive between Babar Azam, India’s Virat Kohli and Australia’s Steven Smith.

The star all-rounder thus picked the best cover drive operator; ranking Babar Azam the first.

“Babar Azam, Virat [Kohli] and then [Steve] Smith,” Shahid Afridi responded while answering the question.

“Babar plays a beautiful cover drive,” he added.

The two cricket superstars of the contemporary era, Babar Azam and Virat Kohli, enjoy a healthy rivalry not just in terms of batting records and performances, but also in the sophistication of their strokes.

They have led to intense debate among fans and experts, as to who is the better batter and more aesthetically pleasing while playing his shots.

A similar kind of question was posed to South African veteran David Miller, who is playing for Gujrat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League, and he replied very confidently.

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, he was asked to choose between Babar and Kohli’s cover drive. “Probably, I would go with Babar,” he answered.

Earlier, former England captain Nasser Hussain had also made a similar claim and rated Babar’s cover drive ahead of Virat’s.

“I’m going to be biased. Sorry Indian fans but I’m gonna go with Babar Azam. I nearly went Kohli because I think Kohli is slightly different. Kohli has a bit more of a flick of the wrist of it. Babar Azam has just a lovely little [touch],” he had said.

“If I was teaching any young girl to watch, I’d ask her to watch Meg Lanning. I’m teaching any young boy to watch a cover drive. I would say watch Babar.” he added.

Pakistan all-format skipper Babar Azam has taken world cricket by storm and claimed several records across formats since his debut in 2015.

Recently, the 28-year-old scripted history during the fourth ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi, becoming the fastest batter to complete 5,000 runs in One-Day cricket.

He shattered the world record, previously held by Hashim Amla, taking only 97 innings to reach the landmark, four less than Amla’s 101 innings.

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