‘He is not overly flamboyant’: Hayden draws comparison between ‘meticulous’ Babar and ‘boisterous’ Kohli

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli have often been tussled with each other for their batting heroics. Both the skippers share great reputation with the bat and Babar currently enjoys the numero uno position in the shorter format of the game. 

Kohli, on the other hand, is not having a great time in the middle and has slipped to the eight-position among the batters in T20Is. 

When asked to draw comparison between the two, former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden, who was working as the batting consultant of Pakistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup in UAE, said unlike Kohli the Pakistan captain is not very 'flamboyant' and maintains a calm demeanor on the pitch. 

"Babar and his personality is, as you see, what you get. He is very consistent. He is very stable. He is not overly flamboyant," said Hayden during an interaction with Pakistani journalists from Dubai.  

"They are opposites the way I look at it. Babar is pretty calm most of the time and goes about his captaincy and batting meticulously while Kohli is very animated, very passionate, and very boisterous on the field," he added. 

Hayden admitted that Kohli has achieved a lot more in terms of batting but feels Babar is very young as compared to the Indian. 

"Babar is still young as a captain but from what I have seen he is learning everyday and he is a quick learner," he said.  

Hayden also spoke about Babar's qualities as a batter.

"I think I see Babar has a lot of control when batting and he has a solid temperament. Just to give you an insight into that talent, his ability to consistently react to the ball is second to none from what I've seen."

Hayden felt that Babar's ability to quickly pick up the line and the length of the ball is quicker than the average cricketer.

"That is the mark of someone that is a very fine player," he added.

"I think his consistency stems from these attributes: the way he reacts quickly and how quickly he learns things."

"His reaction time and his ability to play a consistent version of his best self means he doesn't have to have all the innovations, he doesn't have to be striking with any increase or decrease in his temperament. He can remain neutral," he said. 

While Kohli's India crashed out of the T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stage, Babar's Pakistan made it to the final four stage before enduring a tough five-wicket defeat against Australia in the semi-final.