Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has dismissed comparisons with Virat Kohli, saying he is "nowhere near" his Indian counterpart.
Azam is the only player in international cricket other than Kohli to have a batting average above 50 in both the 50-over and 20-over formats of the game.
His consistency in scoring runs for Pakistan has inevitably led to comparisons with Kohli, but the 23-year-old said he has a long way to go to reach the level of the India captain, whom he described as a "legend".
"I try to play like Kohli and compete with him," Azam told Dawn.
Azam was named player of the series in the recently-concluded Twenty20 series against West Indies after contributing scores of 17, 97 not out and 51 in the three matches respectively.
The entire series was played in Karachi's National Stadium, with Pakistan winning 3-0.
Several West Indies players pulled out of the squad due to security concerns as well as clashes with the schedule of the Indian Premier League, but Azam insisted that the absences did not take the sheen off Pakistan's victory.
"Winning the series is always very important because it brings a lot confidence in you for the next tour," he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"We don't consider them a weak opponent. They are the world champions, but we are given our plans, and we are just sticking to it and executing them accordingly.
"No doubt, when you play in front of home crowd, it gives you immense confidence. You understand the home conditions very well and have the knowledge about playing at home in domestic cricket which helps you a lot for international games."
Azam has played 20 T20 internationals for Pakistan, scoring 742 runs at an average of 53.
He became the joint-fastest to score 1,000 runs in One-Day International (ODIs) in January last year. However, he is yet to score a century for Pakistan in 11 Test matches and averages just 24 in the longest format of the game.
