After first declaring Kohli to be the greatest List A batter in the world, the Pakistani player then claimed, “Virat has snatched that record away from me.”

A seasoned Pakistani batsman shockingly drew the connection a few days back between one of his List A numbers and those of legendary Indian player Virat Kohli. After being turned down repeatedly by the Pakistani team over the years, he was merely trying to make a point, but his remark instantly gained popularity on social media. The 36-year-old has admitted that “Kohli has now taken the record away from him” in a statement that he has now amended.

In an interview with Nadir Ali posted on his YouTube channel, Khurram Manzoor, a right-handed batter from Karachi, proclaimed to be the best List A batter in the world. Virat Kohli, according to him, is rated behind him. He said that compared to the former India captain, his conversion rate in the format is greater. In the statement, he did make it clear that his goal was not to compare himself to Kohli, but rather to highlight his domestic cricket accomplishments in a bid to refute the selectors’ continuous rejection.

I do not consider myself to be comparable to Virat Kohli. Regardless of who else is in the top 10, I am currently rated #1 in the world for 50-over cricket. Behind me is Kohli. I succeed more frequently than he does in List A cricket. He gets a century once every six innings. My century rate is 5.68 innings per century. Based on my 10-year average of 53, I am now ranked sixth in the world in List A cricket. In addition, I have hit 24 centuries during the last 48 innings. I have continued to be Pakistan’s leading scorer since 2015, regardless of who has started for them. I am also the top scorer and century-maker in the national T20 league. I am, however, ignored. Khurram, who has represented Pakistan in 26 international games, said that no one has ever offered a credible defense for it.

In response to the criticism he got after the statement, Khurram has explained, stating that he only attracted attention to a statistic and never intended to make parallels between himself and Kohli, whom he hailed as a “generational talent,” and himself.

It’s funny how certain individuals and media outlets have taken my interview out of context and misconstrued it. Virat Kohli has always been in my opinion the best player of his generation. I spoke about having the best innings per hundred ratios, where I am at the top of the list and Kohli is at the bottom, in List A Cricket. There is no comparison between us since he has played more games than I have, and the majority of them have been on an international stage, he tweeted.

Khurram afterward realized the number he stressed was out-of-date and apologized while once again applauding the top Indian batter.

Regarding Kohli, he will return for the Border-Gavaskar Test series, which starts on February 9, after a break from the current three-match T20I series against New Zealand.