Who was more successful in 2025: Virat Kohli or Babar Azam?

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam had contrasting 2025 seasons, with Babar scoring more overall runs but Kohli delivering greater impact and consistency, especially in one-day internationals.

The debate around Virat Kohli versus Babar Azam in 2025 cannot be settled by runs alone. Success over a year is measured through impact, efficiency, context, and role clarity, not just aggregate numbers.

The context of 2025

International cricket in 2025 saw players making clear format choices. Virat Kohli largely narrowed his focus, stepping away from T20Is and Tests, while Babar Azam carried Pakistan’s batting responsibility across all three formats, often under pressure.

The numbers at a glance

Virat Kohli – 2025
ODIs: 651 runs in 13 innings

• Average: 65
• Strike rate: 96+
• Centuries: 3
• Half-centuries: 4
• Highest score: 135
• Tests: 1 match, 23 runs (retired from Tests)
• T20Is: Did not play (retired in 2024)

Key takeaway: Limited appearances, but elite efficiency and match-winning consistency in ODIs.

Babar Azam – 2025
Tests: 315 runs in 10 innings

• Average: 31.5
• Highest score: 81
• ODIs: 544 runs in 17 innings
• Average: 34
• Strike rate: 77+
• Centuries: 1
• Half-centuries: 3
• T20Is: 206 runs in 8 innings
• Average: 34+
• Strike rate: 114
• Half-centuries: 2
• Total international runs (all formats): 1,065

Key takeaway: Heavy workload across formats, solid output, but fewer decisive innings.

Runs vs quality: the real difference
On raw numbers alone, Babar Azam scored more runs in 2025. However, cricketing success is often judged by quality and impact, not volume.

• Kohli’s ODI average of 65 stands out as world-class.
• His centuries came in high-pressure matches with clear match influence.
• Babar’s output, while respectable, reflected consistency without dominance, especially in ODIs and Tests.

Verdict: Who had the better 2025?

• In terms of workload and total contribution: Babar Azam

• In terms of impact, efficiency, and match-winning quality: Virat Kohli

Final assessment

Virat Kohli was the more successful batter in 2025, despite playing fewer matches, because his performances were sharper, more decisive, and of higher quality—particularly in ODIs.
Babar Azam, meanwhile, deserves credit for carrying Pakistan’s batting across formats, but his year lacked the defining, game-changing highs that set Kohli apart.

In short:
Babar did more. Kohli did it better.