England star tipped as "next Babar Azam or Virat Kohli" by Pakistan legend

31 January 2023 , 13:29

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England star Harry Brook has been compared to Babar Azam and Virat Kohli (Image: Michael Steele-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Pakistan legend Rashid Latif believes England batter Harry Brook can be the "next Babar Azam or Virat Kohli ", having experienced immediate success across all three formats since making his international debut.

Babar and Kohli are among the best batters in the world and both feature in the top 15 of the ICC's batting rankings in Test, ODI and T20I cricket. And Latif, who represented Pakistan over 200 times, believes Brook can emulate their success.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable rise since making his first England appearance last year, winning the T20 World Cup and smashing three consecutive Test centuries in a series whitewash over Pakistan.

Brook is looking forward to another bumper year in 2023, with a home Ashes series against Australia and a 50-over World Cup in India. "If you look at Brook's performance then in the last couple of innings he was just outstanding," Latif said on the Caught Behind YouTube channel.

"He just doesn't stop. He also became one of the most expensive overseas players in IPL auction.

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"Brook is now one of the best players in the world at the moment, among the current crop of players. He could be the next Babar Azam or Virat Kohli."

Brook has enjoyed a stunning start to his England career (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

Latif is not the only one to have compared Brook to Kohli, with England Test captain Ben Stokes lauding him as a "rare" talent following his stunning run of form against Pakistan.

"After the summer he had last year, getting all the big-ups before he made his debut at the back end of the summer, to come here and put in that kind of performance again was just phenomenal," Stokes told Sky Sports.

"He's one of those rare players that you look across all formats and you can just see him being successful everywhere. It's a massive shout, but Virat Kohli is one of those guys where his technique is just so simple and works everywhere. The pressure that he puts back onto opposition is exactly what we're about."

Matthew Cooper