The 'Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam' debate is not a new thing at the international stage in the past couple of years. Both Kohli and Babar have been the star performers for their teams and are the only batsmen in ICC top 10 rankings of all three formats.
During a conversation with IndiaTV, Danish Kaneria gave his opinion on the comparison between the two stalwarts and said it's not fair to do it right now.
"There should not be a comparison between Babar and Virat right now. Indian captain Virat Kohli has proved himself and has scored runs everywhere. There is no doubt that Babar Azam is a brilliant player and currently the backbone of Pakistan's batting. He has been performing consistently for the team. Therefore, it is not possible to compare the two. Babar is the future star of Pakistan and the team's batting rests on them to a large extent," Kaneria told IndiaTV.
The veteran bowler further claims that leg-spinners will dominate the upcoming season of Indian Premier League, which is scheduled to start from September 19 in UAE. Kaneria named Yuzvendra Chahal and Imran Tahir to be the standout performers in UAE.
"The spinners will play a big role in the IPL, which is going to take place in UAE. Especially the leg spinners will dominate. Both Yuzvendra Chahal and Imran Tahir will be very dangerous in the UAE. Spinners like Kuldeep Yadav will be able to leave your mark. Due to slow wickets, spinners will dominate there."
Kaneria called it a "matter of pride" in representing the Pakistan cricket team. He played 61 Tests and 18 ODIs for Pakistan between 2000 and 2007 taking 261 wickets and 15 wickets respectively.
"Playing for the Pakistan cricket team has been a matter of pride for me. Playing for my country and being a Hindu cricketer, representing the Pakistan team and winning matches for my team is like an achievement for me and it is a matter of pride and honour for me," he added.
"People accuse me of playing the religion card. I do not mean to do this nor have I ever played the religion card. My issue is only with the Pakistan Cricket Board and its double standards. The behaviour of the PCB with the rest of the players is very good but when it comes to me, I am sidelined. I regret this," he concluded.
