New Delhi: Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has heaped praise on batsman Babar Azam, comparing him with Indian Test captain Virat Kohli.


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As quoted by Express Tribune, Arthur said, "He's 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."


"I think we've become better and better as the series has gone on. We arrived straight from Dubai to five days of rain in Nelson so we didn't get any training or a practice game, which was completely rained out. And there was an earthquake as well," the Pakistan coach added.


"We almost went into the first Test match pretty cold, played OK there and we've played a lot better in this [second] Test match. Had this series gone another Test match we would have been better for the conditions. Hopefully, this has put us in good stead for what we can experience in Australia," he said on series loss to New Zealand.


On present, Babar averages 46.40 after three Tests under his belt and 52.11 with 18 ODIs. In the process, Azam has hit three centuries and five fifties in limited overs cricket.


After a 2-0 whitewash against New Zealand, Pakistan are now preparing to face Australia in a three-match Test series which starts-off with a day-night Test in Brisbane on December 15.


In New Zealand, Pakistan also create an unwanted World Record after losing 9 wickets in the last session of the final Test.


The remaining two matches will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (Dec 26-30) and the Sydney Cricket Ground.