Babar Azam picked over Virat Kohli by commentator Mark Nicholas in all-format World XI

Virat Kohli is often hailed as a modern-day great by cricket pundits for his ability to consistently perform in all three formats. With the meteoric rise of Pakistan's Babar Azam in recent years, comparisons have been drawn between the two prolific batsmen. While nothing can discount the Indian captain's pedigree, England's Mark Nicholas is of the opinion that considering current form, Virat Kohli does not deserve a place in his all-format World XI. 

Mark Nicholas omits Virat Kohli from all-format World XI 

The cricketer-turned-commentator in his ESPNcricinfo article opined that not many players currently can find a spot in the all-format World XI. While he named David Warner and Jasprit Bumrah as two of his choices, he was apprehensive regarding the inclusion of Virat Kohli. Nicholas stated that the Indian captain's underwhelming outing in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League weakened his case in the shortest format, and hence he missed out from his team. 

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However, the 63-year-old went on to add Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, to the side. Azam has been in phenomenal form in all three formats and was instrumental in guiding his side Karachi Kings to their maiden Pakistan Super League title this year. He was also named as the 'Player of the Tournament' for his stunning performances with the bat. 

Two Indian players made it into Mark Nicholas' all-format World XI. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has proved his mettle in red-ball cricket as well as limited-overs matches, was named in the team. Surprisingly off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has not featured in the Indian team for white-ball cricket since 2017, was also added to the side.  

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Mark Nicholas' all-format World XI team 

David Warner, Quinton de Kock, Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, Jos Buttler, Ravi Ashwin, Rashid Khan, Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah.

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Virat Kohli records and Virat Kohli centuries

The 32-year-old recently became the fasted player to amass 22,000 runs in international cricket. The batsman achieved the feat in the second ODI of the India vs Australia 2020 series. Kohli has smashed 43 centuries in ODI, whereas he has crossed the 100-run mark 27 times in Test matches. 

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Talking about a few of Kohli's impressive records, he is only the second batsman in history to surpass 900 points in the ICC Player Rankings for Tests. The first batsman to have crossed the mark is Sunil Gavaskar. With six double hundreds in Test cricket as captain, he has the record of most 200s as a skipper. It took 205 matches for Kohli to cross the 10,000 run-mark in ODI cricket, making him the fastest player to do so. 

Image source: Babar Azam Instagram