Babar Azam, currently on the 3rd spot on the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 rankings, said on Monday that he is "nowhere near" Virat Kohli, calling the captain of the Indian national team a “legend”.

“I try to play like Kohli and compete with him," said Azam, adding that at this stage, he could not be compared to the Indian batsman.

Previously, left arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir in a Twitter question-answer session with fans had has also praised the Indian cricketer, calling him "the best batsman in the world".

Azam, while speaking at a press conference following the second Pak vs West Indies T20I match in Karachi on Monday, called himself unfortunate for missing out on a century by three runs.

“There was no pressure on me and I was in coordination with Shoaib Malik but unfortunately missed a couple of balls and eventually, my century,” he regretted.

Pakistan has a 2-0 lead against West Indies so far in the ongoing three-match T20I series.

Calling West Indies a “world champion”, Azam said that Pakistan did not consider the team to be an easy target and fought hard to win. “We bowled well to put them under pressure."

Azam called Hussain Talat, who made his T20I debut for Pakistan in the West Indies series, a “class player”.

“I have been playing with him since the Under-19 matches and suggested to him not to take pressure”.

Azam also served as the captain of the Pakistan team at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup.