Ahead of the clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, India star batter Virat Kohli has called the Men in Green skipper Babar Azam as the top batsman in the world right now across formats.

The statement comes a day before the both teams take on each other in the second match of the Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium. Azam is currently enjoying the form of his life and sits at the top of the ICC player rankings in T20I and ODI for a while. Azam is at third spot in ICC Test player rankings. The right-handed batter is always in news for his scoring abilities across formats. 

Kohli revealed that he first met Azam after the 2019 World Cup clash against Pakistan.

“The first interaction I had with him was the 2019 World Cup after the game in Manchester. Him and Imad (Wasim). Imad I have known since Under-19 cricket, we have played against each other and Imad said Babar wanted to have a chat,” Kohli said in a chat with Star Sports.

“We sat down and spoke about the game. I saw a lot of regard and respect from him and that hasn’t changed regardless of the fact that he is probably the top batsman in the world right now across formats, performing so consistently,” the former India skipper added.

Kohli said he enjoys watching Azam play and added that the Pakistan star batter’s cricketing foundation is very solid and he is ‘very grounded’.

“And rightly so, he has amazing talent and I have always enjoyed watching him play. So that hasn’t changed. He is performing now and he is coming into his own, but I don’t see his attitude or his approach change towards me, which is a very good sign of someone who is very grounded in his foundations of his upbringing,” Kohli went on to say.

“His cricketing foundations as well are very solid. So these kinds of players, these kind of characters go a long way and inspire a lot of people. And I see that happening with him as well,” he said.

Both Kohli and Azam will be seen in action in the second clash of the Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.