Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at Virat Kohli’s critics. He defended the Indian cricketer, who has been going through a rough patch in his career. Virat Kohli’s recent form has been subjected to a lot of criticism from former cricketers and fans. However, Shoaib Akhtar has backed the 33-year-old to make a strong comeback from this phase.
In the recent ODI against England, Virat Kohli managed just 16 runs off 25 balls. He has scored only 59 runs in five innings so far on India’s tour of England. With the ICC T20 World Cup around the corner, Virat Kohli’s performance has become the talk of the town in the cricketing fraternity.
Shoaib Akhtar termed the Indian cricketer as the greatest player to have emerged in the last ten years in world cricket. He expressed that Kohli is a great player, and does not deserve such criticism, after just one bad year. The former pacer also shared his thoughts about Kapil Dev questioning Virat Kohli’s place in the Indian team.
“Virat Kohli is the greatest player in the world. He is the greatest to have emerged in the last ten years. And with just one bad year, people have gone against him. I don’t understand why people are criticizing such a big, great player. How can you think that Virat Kohli should be dropped? Kapil Dev is my senior, I respect him a lot. He is a big player, he can criticize Virat Kohli, but nobody else. Kapil Dev has the right to share his opinion, I agree. But as a Pakistani, I am supporting Virat Kohli because only a great player can score seventy centuries,” said Shoaib Akhtar in a video on his Youtube channel.
Runs will come if you stay at the crease: Shoaib Akhtar’s advice to Virat Kohli
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has advised Virat Kohli to focus on his batting and ignore the criticism. He feels that the Indian cricketer will emerge as a different player, after coming out of this phase. Speaking on his Youtube channel, Shoaib Akhtar also pointed out that Virat Kohli has been trying to play aggressively, right from the start. However, he expressed that Kohli should give himself time at the crease. Akhtar said,
“When Virat Kohli gets out from this phase, he will be a different player. I have been saying this in my vlog, that the lifespan he had as a captain and with the media, put that aside. Now, the whole focus should be on his batting and individual performance. He should not worry about what people are saying. All these things will make you a bigger player, you have to score thirty more centuries.”
“Runs will come if you stay at the crease, and not try to hit every ball. It’s simple logic. Everything will fall back into place. He is not giving himself time at the crease,” he added.
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