Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: Who is the Real King of Cricket?

Cricket is not just a game but an emotion for the players playing it and for the fans as well. Starting from Kapil Dev winning the first ICC trophy for the country to Rohit Sharma lifting the Champions Trophy 2025, cricket for the Indians has come a long way.

Many legendary players like Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, and many more have represented India on an international level. Similarly, some overseas players like Sir Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Alastair Cook, James Anderson, and others have played for their respective countries and achieved many accolades in their careers.

Virat Kohli is the King of Cricket

Despite having so many legendary players in the game, the 36-year-old cricketer from Delhi, ‘Virat Kohli,’ is known as the ‘King of Cricket.’ Many cricket experts and former cricketers have given him this title based on the things he has done for the team on an international platform. He has many other titles, like the ‘Chase Master’ from the cricket pundits and the fans. Throughout his career, Kohli has played some great knocks and broken records, making it an easy job to do.

He is a prolific leader, a great sportsperson, and a brilliant human being. Even if we keep his cricket performance aside, his fitness is one of the most important things that motivate youngsters today. At the age of 36, Kohli is as fit as a teenager. This speaks enough about the kind of sportsman he is and the level of dedication he has for his game.

Statistically, if we look at it, he scored 82 centuries overall and is around 4000 runs away from Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket. If he continues to play for some more years, he might push back Sachin to become the highest run-scorer in the history of the game.

Virat Kohli Personal Information

Born	November 5th, 1988
Age	35
Birthplace	Delhi, India
Nickname	Cheeku
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Role	Top-order batter
Wife	Anushka Sharma
National Side	India (2008–present)
Test Debut (cap 269)	June 20th, 2011 vs West Indies
Last Test	January 4th, 2024 vs South Africa
ODI Debut (cap 175)	August 18th, 2008 vs Sri Lanka
Last ODI	November 19th, 2023 vs Australia
ODI Shirt Number	18
T20I Debut (cap 31)	June 12th, 2010 vs Zimbabwe
Last T20I	January 17th, 2024 vs Afghanistan
T20I Shirt Number	18
Domestic Team	Delhi (2006- Present)
IPL Team	Royal Challengers Bangalore (2008–present)

Is Babar Azam referred to as a King of Cricket?

Pakistan’s former captain, Babar Azam, is presumed to be the ‘Real King of Cricket’ by the fans of his country. While the player is in the No.2 spot in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings 2025, he has scored three half-centuries in the last ten innings.

Also, his performance was below average in the recently ended Champions Trophy 2025. Babar was one of the best in the business a few years down the line but has failed to keep the momentum going. Below is a table of statistical comparisons between Virat Kohli’s and Babar Azam’s performances in cricket.

Comparison between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam

Name	Virat Kohli	Babar Azam
Team Name	India	Pakistan
Age	34	28
Total International Matches	460	220
ODI Runs	12,344	4,664
T20 Runs	3,296	2,686
Test Match Runs	8,074	3,122
Trophy	ICC World Cup 2011, ICC Champions Trophy 2013	None at the international level

Also Read: Who Is GOAT Of Cricket?

Virat Kohli’s career stats

Test

The King of Cricket in world, Virat Kohli has been a gem of a player throughout his career. In red-ball cricket, he has amassed a lot of runs and used to score centuries for fun. Against Australia, he played like a beast and helped India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a decade. If we talk about the captaincy aspect, he took a failed Indian team to the top position in the rankings and won the Test mace back in 2017. India stayed in the first position for three consecutive years before New Zealand took away the Test Mace after winning the World Test Champions 2021.

Now, talking about the runs, Kohli has played 123 games and amassed 9230 runs, with an average of 46.85. He has scored 30 centuries, seven double-centuries, and 31 half-centuries in the format. Numbers do the talking for the 36-year-old cricketer.

ODI

The One Day Internationals (ODI) are Virat Kohli’s favourite format. He has scored tons of runs in the ODIs, in just 302 games. At an average of 57.88, Kohli has scored 14181 runs, including 51 centuries and 74 half-centuries. There was a time when he went after some of the greatest bowlers to chase the given target. He was fearless and ruthless, and this is the main reason why a lot of budding cricketers follow him.

T20I

Virat Kohli, who is the king of cricket in world, was brilliant in the game’s shortest format as well. He has played 125 games and scored 4188 runs with a high score of 122*. His average in T20Is is 48.69, which is astounding for a No.3 batter. He has scored just one single century and 38 half-centuries in the format. Kohli is known to be one of the best batters in modern-day cricket. Despite his not scoring many runs these days, he is still the best of any average cricketer in the world, and that is why he is known as the ‘King of Cricket.’

Virat Kohli Batting & Fielding Stats

Format	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	123	210	13	9230	254*	46.85	16608	55.57	30	31	1027	30	121	0
ODIs	302	290	45	14181	183	57.88	15192	93.34	51	74	1325	152	161	0
T20Is	125	117	31	4188	122*	48.69	3056	137.04	1	38	369	124	54	0