Afridi can't pick between Kohli and Babar despite Babar's recent run

The question of who is the better batter between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam keeps resurfacing on fan discussion and on many talk shows. The long-standing debate has grown hotter by the day with the Pakistan captain's tremendous run of form across formats in international cricket. Now Shaheen Shah Afridi has joined the party, so to speak.

Shaheen may have made his international debut under the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed in 2018, however, he has grown to become an integral member of the Babar-led Pakistan side in all formats of the game. He has closely watched the Pakistan stalwart rise to fame and break one international record after another.

Meanwhile, Shaheen's only meeting with Kohli was in the 2021 T20 World Cup tie in Dubai on October 24. The then India captain had managed to stop Shaheen's onslaught at the start of the innings with a six over long off, but the Pakistan pacer eventually got the better of Kohli later in the innings.

Shaheen's 3 for 41 against India in that game, followed by a stellar unbeaten stand by the opening pair of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan beat India for the first time ever in a World Cup meeting. The 10-wicket win also remains Pakistan's best victory by wicket margin in T20 cricket.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo during a rapid-fire round, Shaheen was asked to pick between Kohli and Babar, he chose the seemingly less popular route. "I like both, yeah," is what he said.

Shaheen was further asked to pick between Rizwan and Jos Buttler and he chose his teammate. And between IPL and PSL, the youngster picked the latter.