KARACHI: Former Pakistani fast-bowler and 1992 World Cup winner Aqib Javed claimed that the former Indian batter Virat Kohli has lost his peak and the top-ranked white-ball batter Babar Azam is now ahead of him.
Aqib, while responding to the rapid-fire questions in ARY News’ show Sports Room (Eid Special), claimed that India’s top batter Kohli, who has been struggling to find his form for the last two years, has lost his peak and the Pakistan captain Babar has surpassed him.
“Now I think Babar is ahead. He [Kohli] had his peak but now going down. But Babar, on the other hand, is going up,” Aqib said.
Aqib, on asked, also drew the comparison between the Indian and Pakistani pacers – Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi – and the wicket-keeper batters – Mohammad Rizwan and Rishabh Pant, claiming that both Pakistanis are also ahead of their Indian counterparts.
“I now think that Shaheen is better than Bumrah because when Shaheen came into the international circuit Bumrah had already established himself and the critics used to say that Bumrah is doing well in Tests, T20Is, and so but now Shaheen has proved he is even better and has more capacity than Bumrah,” he said.
“Rizwan is better than Pant these days. There is no doubt that Pant is an extremely skilful player but the way Rizwan takes the responsibility, Pant is well behind him. It is often said that Pant is an aggressive player, but the aggressiveness doesn’t mean to hit a couple of big shots and got out but to stay at the crease, fight, and finish the game,” Aqib added.
A piece of advice for young cricketers
The former pacer then responded to a question regarding Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, saying they should play club cricket only.
“Umar Akmal should now play club cricket only because his attitude is like that and the same goes for Ahmed Shehzad,” he said.
The 1992 world cup winner, again in response to a question advised the young explosive batter, Azam Khan, to work on his fitness or quit cricket.
“I think Azam Khan should either quit cricket or become like a cricketer. He should work on his fitness,” Aqib said.
Suspension of departmental cricket
Aqib also backed the resurrection of departmental cricket and the former domestic cricket structure, claiming that the six-team domestic format did not serve Pakistan cricket.
“There is nothing as the roots and club cricket are also suspended due to this new six-team domestic setup. I can design the structure they’ve created in less than half an hour “Aqib remarked.
Ramiz Raja as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board
In answer to a question from the host on whether his old teammate Ramiz Raja should quit as Chairman of the PCB? Aqib was quick to react, saying, “Yes,” before clarifying that his policies were the same as his predecessors.
“The reason behind sacking Wasim Khan and Ehsan Mani was that they were not performing up to the mark or their policies were inadequate but since Ramiz took over, neither a board official has been dismissed nor has he made any policy changes,” Aqib explained.
“It signifies that the same momentum is still in effect, with only the face changed and nothing new done,” he concluded.
