Daily Times

LAHORE: Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has said that players from his country should not be compared to Indian cricketers, adding that Pakistan has “more talent”. Razzaq also said that India skipper Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s Babar Azam should not be compared to each other as that both are “completely different players”. “Firstly, we should not say such a thing compare Virat Kohli with Babar Azam. You can’t compare Indian players with Pakistan players because Pakistan has more talent. If you look at our history, we have so many great players who we can draw comparisons with like Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamamul Haq, Saeed Anwar, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Ijaz Ahmed,” Razzaq said during an interview. “Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are completely different players. If we want to compare the two, then it’s important to hold matches between Pakistan and India and then judge who is a better player,” he added.

“Virat Kohli is a good player and he has performed well against Pakistan. I have nothing against him but if Indians don’t compare their players with Pakistan, then we shouldn’t do that as well,” he added. India recently secured a spot in the final of the ICC World Test Championship after defeating England 3-1 in the four-match series. India sit atop the men’s Test rankings while Pakistan is placed fifth. In ODI and T20I rankings as well, India rank higher than Pakistan. India are ranked second in both ODI and T20I rankings whereas Pakistan hold the sixth and fourth positions in the ODI and T20I rankings respectively.

Moreover, India has never lost to Pakistan in the World Cup. Praising Azam, Razzaq said the player is very talented and will go on to break all the records. “Babar Azam played under me for five to six years and I never dropped him as captain. He was very talented and a very decent batsman. He proved himself on the world stage and is now the number one batsman. If we look after him properly, he will go on to break all the records,” he said. Razzaq feels that local coaches should be hired as they have a better understanding of the players. “I don’t think hiring foreign coaches is the right thing to do,” Razzaq said. “There is a communication gap between players and the coaching staff where foreigners are hired. Whereas, local coaches have a better understanding of players which is why they should be backed instead of experimenting with foreign coaches,” he said.