Cricket is truly a game that has evolved over generations. With an enriched history of over a hundred years, cricket has transformed from the gentleman’s game to the modern-day approach of brute force and alarming strike rates. Players, too, have evolved their style of play to fit in with these changing standards.
Hence, it can easily be said that the comparison between two cricketers, even the greatest of them, belonging to two entirely different timelines, seems lame. However, some players truly transcend generations, and the Indian batter Virat Kohli and Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram are two such players.
Virat Kohli, the legendary cricketer of the modern generation and one of the greatest ever cricketers from India, was not given an edge against the former Pakistan pace bowler Wasim Akram when Ian Bishop was asked to pick the winner between the two greats of their generations.
Virat Kohli vs Wasim Akram: Who does Ian Bishop think has an edge over the other?
Modern-day cricket has not witnessed a batter greater than Virat Kohli. This has been a fact that has been accepted by cricketing legends all over the world, and Kohli has proved it over and over again.
On the other hand, Wasim Akram is not only the greatest among white-ball fast bowlers of all time but is also the most lethal pacer to have played the game for Pakistan. His swinging ability was independent of tracks, and his reverse-swinging toe crushers remained the unplayable ball through a decade.
In an ESPNcricinfo session, the former West Indian speedster Ian Bishop was asked to pick who would win a one-on-one Super Over; he picked Wasim Akram over Virat Kohli.
Though he did not explain his reasoning behind his choice, it seemed that Akram’s ability with the ball, being a truly inspirational attribute during his playing days, made him a little biased towards the Pakistani paceman. But that does not decrease Kohli’s unmatchable aura and greatness in the game.
Virat Kohli vs Wasim Akram in a super over 🍿
Who does Bish think wins? 👀 pic.twitter.com/8FgOXqt8zs
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 7, 2026
U19 World Cup winner to World T20 Champions: Kohli’s International Career in a glimpse
A spunky yet aggressive young man from Delhi stepped onto the field for the India U-19 side back in 2008, when he led India to an ICC U-19 World Cup as the captain of the Indian team. A star was born, and Virat Kohli, since then, has impressed across all formats of the game with his technical masterclass and gripping personality.
His ODI debut came in 2008, soon after the U19 World Cup triumph, but he took some time before making his debut in T20I and Test cricket for India. In a career that has spanned over 18 years, the number-one Indian superstar has done wonders that many greats could never have imagined.
He has won multiple ICC titles for India, won an innumerable number of player of the matches in ICC events, and has earned titles like the chasmaster or the run machine. But what remains Virat Kohli’s biggest success is the fear he managed to instil in the hearts of bowlers and the respect he has earned throughout his vast career.
With 28000+ runs in international cricket, he is only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar on the list of most runs in international cricket, while he also nears the massive record of a hundred centuries, also held by the great Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar.
Virat Kohli retired from Test and T20I cricket after having won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and only stars in ODI games for the Men in Blue.
Imran Khan’s deputy to the ‘King of Swing‘: A brief Trivia of Wasim Akram’s international career
Often referred to as the Sultan of Swing, he is the greatest Pakistani cricketer ever and one of the most legendary pacers the world has ever witnessed. After having started his career under Irfan Khan’s captaincy back in 1984, he won the first World Cup for Pakistan in 1992.
Often referred to as one of the greatest pacers in white-ball cricket, Wasim Akram was the first player to complete 502 wickets in white-ball cricket. In his career that spanned over nearly two decades, Akram picked 916 scalps in international cricket and amassed over 6500+ runs with the bat.
He is also one of Pakistan’s greatest captains, as he led the side to a World Cup final in 1999 before losing to Steve Waugh’s Australia, and then won the Asia Cup in 2000. He retired from all formats after 2003, with his final match being an ODI against Zimbabwe in the ICC World Cup 2003.
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