Pakistan's Babar Azam has been on a splendid scoring run in international cricket in the last couple of years.
Such has been his impact that former England captain Nasser Hussain placed the young Azam in the same league as Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.
'If this lad was Virat Kohli, everyone would be talking about it, but because it is Babar Azam, no one is talking about it,' Naz said when commenting during the first Test between England and Pakistan in Manchester.
'They keep going on about the Fab Four (but) it's the Fab Five and Babar Azam is in that,' Naz added.
Azam, whose cover drives have some similarities with Kohli, has enjoyed a conistent run in Tests since 2018 matching the likes of Kohli, Australia's run machine Steve Smith, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and England's Joe Root.
Among the 'Fab Five', Root has the highest tally of runs with 2,225, but his average is only 39.
Kohli has hit seven centuries and as many fifties for 1,972 runs in 23 games.
Azam averages an impressive 63 for 1,449 runs in 16 games.
Rajneesh Gupta compares the 'Fab Five' in Tests since the start of 2018:
| Tests | Innings | Not Out | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root | 31 | 58 | 2 | 2225 | 226 | 39.73 | 51.09 | 4 | 14 |
| Virat Kohli | 23 | 39 | 2 | 1972 | 254* | 53.29 | 56.42 | 7 | 7 |
| Babar Azam | 16 | 28 | 5 | 1449 | 143 | 63.00 | 62.94 | 5 | 10 |
| Kane Williamson | 17 | 27 | 3 | 1262 | 200* | 52.58 | 56.79 | 4 | 6 |
| Steve Smith | 13 | 21 | 0 | 1253 | 211 | 59.66 | 52.98 | 3 | 7 |
In One-Day Internationals too, Azam has made a mark, but there is no matching Kohli who has come closest to matching the achievements of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in 50-overs cricket.
Kohli averages a massive average of 74 in ODIs since 2018 with 11 centuries and 13 fifties for a tally of 2,837 run in 46 games.
The next best is Joe Root with 1,922 runs from 49 games.
In ODIs
| ODIs | Innings | Not Out | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 46 | 45 | 7 | 2837 | 160* | 74.65 | 98.43 | 11 | 13 |
| Joe Root | 49 | 46 | 10 | 1922 | 113* | 53.38 | 88.16 | 6 | 9 |
| Babar Azam | 38 | 37 | 5 | 1601 | 115 | 50.03 | 88.45 | 4 | 8 |
| Kane Williamson | 33 | 32 | 4 | 1457 | 148 | 52.03 | 75.45 | 4 | 7 |
| Steve Smith | 22 | 21 | 0 | 833 | 131 | 39.66 | 85.26 | 1 | 6 |
In T20 Internationals, Azam leads the way with 1,003 runs in 24 games since 2018.
Kohli is second on 838 runs from 27 matches.
In T20Is
| T20s | Innings | Not Out | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam | 24 | 24 | 5 | 1003 | 97* | 52.78 | 131.28 | 0 | 11 |
| Virat Kohli | 27 | 25 | 7 | 838 | 94* | 46.55 | 139.20 | 0 | 6 |
| Kane Williamson | 18 | 18 | 1 | 492 | 95 | 28.94 | 132.61 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Smith | 9 | 6 | 3 | 250 | 80* | 83.33 | 147.92 | 0 | 2 |
| Joe Root | 7 | 7 | 1 | 150 | 55 | 25.00 | 115.38 | 0 | 1 |
