Virat Kohli or Babar Azam, Who is better T20I batsman? - A look at key stats

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Former India captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan captain Babar Azam are one of the most talked about batsmen in the world of cricket. In the last two years, Virat has struggled to keep himself up and running in the competition of becoming the World's Best Batsman in all three formats. Kohli is going through a rough patch since November 2019 when he scored his last international century against Bangladesh in Kolkata at Eden Gardens. However, on the other hand, Babar Azam has been in form of his life in the last two years. In the last two years, he has scored 400 plus runs at an average above 40 in T20I cricket. With poor form in the last two years, Virat slipped to 33rd rank in the ICC T20 Batsmen ranking while Babar is still at the top of the list with 818 points to his name. Virat Kohli still has an average of 50 with almost 100 matches to his name. 

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Few of these stats are in favour of Babar while few are in favour of Virat. So in this statistical analysis, we will try to decode who is batter T20I batsman - Virat Kohli or Babar Azam 

This shot by Babar Azam__ #NEDvPAK pic.twitter.com/xWD42YYvJl — Haroon (@hazharoon) August 21, 2022

T20I Runs 

Virat Kohli - 3308

Babar Azam - 2686

Virat Kohli has played 25 matches more than Babar and thus has scored 622 runs lesser than India's talisman. However, Babar's recent form suggests something else

T20I runs in the last two years

Babar Azam 

2022 - 482

2021 - 474

Virat Kohli

2022 - 81

2021 - 299

Babar has scored 576 runs more than Virat in last year in T20Is. However, we also need to consider that India's talisman is not playing T20Is consistently, he often opts for a break during T20 cricket as he keeps Test and ODI cricket his top priority. 

T20I Average 

Virat Kohli - 50.12

Babar Azam - 45.53

Both these batsmen are amazingly consistent even in T20Is. Babar who bats at the top of the order has a commendable average while Virat probable has the best average after 99 T20Is. Cricket fans around the world feel that the scenario might be different in the last two years but the number does not lie. 

T20I Average in last two years

Virat Kohli - 47.5

Babar Azam - 41.5

T20I Strike Rate

Virat Kohli - 137.66

Babar Azam - 129.45

Babar has been criticized for his poor strike rate in T20 cricket. Sometimes his team lose the match but he remains not out as he fails to take on the charge in death overs. On the other hand, Virat has always made sure that he finishes the game for his side and Virat believes in increasing his strike rate gradually in his innings. 

T20I strike rate in the last two years

Virat Kohli - 130

Babar Azam - 190

In the last two years, Virat Kohli's strike rate has dipped a lot while Babar Azam has taken a big leap. He is striking the ball at around 200. 

Highest T20I Score

Virat Kohli - 94

Babar Azam - 122

100s, 50s in T20Is

Virat Kohli - 0, 30

Babar Azam - 1, 26