“You compare him with Virat Kohli and he is not even close” – Nayan Mongia on comparisons between Babar Azam and Indian star

Former Indian wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia reckons it is not prudent to compare Pakistan captain Babar Azam with Virat Kohli. India’s talisman has been consistently performing at the top level in the last 15 years whereas Azam has also done a good job for his team.

However, Azam scored 44 runs off 43 balls in the team’s opening game against underdogs USA and the team could only manage 159 runs on the board. Pakistan went on to lose by five runs in the Super Over and many cricket boffins slammed Azam for his mundane strike rate as well as captaincy.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is in solid form, scoring 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69 while playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL. But Kohli was dismissed for a solitary run against Ireland in the team’s opener.

“Babar Azam’s batting has been stumbling for the last few years. He is looking out of form. He is putting too much pressure on himself, that he has to stay there and make a big score for the team. If he takes pressure like this and the team doesn’t support him in batting and fielding, mental pressure definitely comes on every batter,” Nayan Mongia said on Star Sports.

Mongia reckons Pakistan’s batting will collapse if Babar Azam is dismissed cheaply.

“Pressure has been put on him that he is the best batter and has to stay there and score big. You compare him with Virat Kohli and he is not even close to Virat Kohli. So the pressure is on Babar Azam and the Pakistan team that till he fires, everything is fine, but if he gets out, Pakistan’s batting collapses,” the former India wicketkeeper added.

With the USA’s and West Indies’ pitches assisting the bowlers, Mongia reckons Pakistan’s batting skills are not up to the mark for challenging conditions.

“Fast bowlers have taken wickets here and spinners have taken wickets in the West Indies. So the fast bowlers will be on top here. You will need skills as a batter here. If you compare Pakistan and India, the Indian batters have more skill. I always believe that Pakistan’s skill-set is very less for such wickets,” he said.

“So I don’t have much expectations from Pakistan’s batting. India’s batting has good skill sets and they can build a good innings and post a good score. However, they will have to play a little cautiously on this wicket. You cannot hit sixes and fours here continuously. You will also need sound defense here,” Mongia stated.

India will take on Pakistan at New York on Sunday.