Ish Sodhi ranks Babar Azam above Virat Kohli, Steve Smith in ‘fab five’

New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi believes Pakistan top-order batsman Babar Azam is the toughest to bowl to among the ‘fab five’ batsmen, which also includes India's Virat Kohli, Australia's Steve Smith, Black Caps captain Kane Williamson and England's Joe Root.

Sodhi, in an Instagram live session with CricTracker on Wednesday, ranked his ‘fab five’ in order, where he placed the Pakistan limited-overs captain at the top.

“I’ll go with Babar at first and Steve Smith at second. Then Kane Williamson, Virat [Kohli] and Joe Root in the end,” said Sodhi. “Babar Azam is the toughest to bowl among the fab five. He is really a great player.”

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When asked by the host about the reason why he placed Kohli below Babar, Sodhi reiterated that he always struggled against the 25-year-old batsman.

“I always find Babar really hard to bowl to. We have played against Babar Azam on some really hot days in UAE and he has played really well,” he added.

Earlier this month, former Australian cricketer Tom Moody, also said that Babar Azam is a special talent, who is going to be in the top five Test batsmen in the next decade.

“He [Babar] has emerged over the last year or so into something that is going to be so special. We talked about how Virat Kohli is so good on the eye as a batsman. If you think Virat Kohli is good to watch, have a look at Babar Azam bat. My gosh, he is something special,” said Moody. “I think, in the next five to ten years, he will definitely be in your top five [batsmen of the decade] without a question.”