Virat Kohli or Babar Azam? Ian Bell gives his verdict on the current best cover drive

There is no doubt that Indian captain Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen of modern-day cricket. Irrespective of the formats, Kohli completely dominates the fascinating game. At present, he is the only batsman to average 50-plus in all three forms.

Like Kohli, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is also a favourite modern player of several fans across the world. Many experts have been largely impressed by Babar’s supreme consistency in the sport that has helped him book a slot in the league of top-quality batters.

Both Kohli and Babar have a significant range of shots as they like to play all around the ground. However, one specific shot that has always triggered a debate among fans concerning who plays it better between the two popular stroke makers is a cover drive.

Cover drive, one of the most graceful shots in cricket, is the act of striking the ball through the cover region with brilliant wristwork, sensational timing and traditional movement of the front foot towards the pitch of a delivery targeted around the off stump.

Speaking about the same, former England cricketer Ian Bell, who himself was a splendid timer of the ball and was well-known for his stylish and classy shots, picked Indian star Kohli, ahead of Babar regarding best cover drive in the cricketing world. Bell said he likes technical batters, and Kohli is the best at present.

“I really like a technical batsman. He is probably the best at the moment. It’s hard to look past Kohli’s cover drive in world cricket,” Bell told Sportskeeda.

Kohli has so far played 91 Tests, 254 ODIs, and 90 T20Is for India, amassing 7490, 12,169 and 3159 runs, respectively. He has 71 hundreds and 115 half-centuries to his name in international cricket.

On the other hand, Babar has accumulated 2169, 3808 and 2035 runs in 33 Tests, 80 ODIs, and 54 T20Is, respectively. The right-handed batter has 18 centuries and 51 half-tons to his credit in the international arena.

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