The cricket fraternity stands divided when it comes to comparing Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. However, former Pakistan Younis Khan reckons the time may not be right to draw parallels between the two batsmen as Babar started his career long after Kohli.

Kohli, 31, made his limited-overs debut in 2008, three years before he received his maiden Test cap in 2011. Babar, on the other hand, is six years younger than Kohli and made his debut for Pakistan in 2015, a time when the India captain was beginning to peak. With a gap of almost 300 international games, the fact that people mention Babar and Kohli in the same sentence may be a moral boost for the Pakistan batsman, but Younis suggests for the comparisons to make sense, the world may have to wait a little longer.

“You see, Kohli – who is now 31 and at the peak of his career – has been in international cricket for over a decade now and has proved himself in all conditions. The 70 international centuries that he has scored is a testimony to his class and abilities,” Younis told Gulf News.

“Babar, on the other hand, has made his international debut barely five years back. He already has 16 centuries under his belt and shows very good averages in both Tests and ODIs, but it will be unfair to start comparing the two right now. If you have to, compare Babar five years hence with the dominance that Kohli is showing in his game today.”

Kohli is one of the few batsmen in the world to average over 50 in all three formats, but Babar isn’t behind, averaging 54.17 in ODIs, 50.72 in T20Is and 45.12 in Tests. Younis, who saw a bit of Babar batting towards the end of his career, likes whatever he’s seen of the batsman and is impressed with the newly-appointed Pakistan captain.

“Babar made his debut during the last two to three years of my career and I was really impressed by his humility. I have always felt that the more humble you are, you can achieve bigger goals in your life,” Younis added.

“It’s one of the right decisions taken by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after a while. Though he may not look it, Babar is quite a resilient boy and he excelled in the T20 format even with the additional responsibility of captaincy. This certainly showed he was ready for bigger things, though it would be quite a challenge as captaincy in the 50-overs game demands a lot more thinking.”