Pakistan captain and wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed recently teased his teammate Babar Azam, calling him ‘Chhote Cheeku’ during the second T20 International match between New Zealand and Pakistan at Eden Park, Auckland on January 25.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, who led his side to 2-1 victory over the Kiwis in three T20I match series, teased the right-handed batsman Babar Azam while defending the 201 run total.
During the 11 over of New Zealand’s innings, Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz mocked Babar Azam for being compared with Indian captain Virat Kohli, whose nickname is ‘Cheeku’.
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In 2017, Pakistani coach Mickey Arthur compared Babar with Virat following similarity in their batting style and batting position.
Sarfraz to Babar Azam “Chotay Cheeku”
__ #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/E2GuD850ek
— I (@Ahmadfied19) 25 January 2018
“He [Azam] is a young gun who will be an exceptional player. I’ll go so far as to say, at the same age, I reckon he’s as good as Virat Kohli, which I know that’s high praise but he’s right up there,” coach Mickey Arthur told Perth’s 6PR radio.
Following Mickey Arthur’s comparison, #ViratKohliofPakistan started trending on social media sites including Twitter.
Babar, however, during a question and answer session on Twitter with his fans turned down the comparison and termed the Indian skipper as a great batsman.
Babar’s reaction came after one of his fans asked him how he would feel about being called Pakistan’s Virat Kohli.
Born in 1994, Babar made his ODI debut in 2015. He received his maiden Test cap in 2016 against West Indies. He has scored over 1780, 475 and 577 runs in ODI, Test and T20 cricket respectively.
