‘Log kehte hain ‘tum Virat ki bohot tareef karte ho’ I say…”: Shoaib Akhtar reveals why he always spoke highly of Kohli

Shoaib Akhtar also mentioned Sachin Tendulkar as he drew a reference of India's batting legend.

Virat Kohli made a blistering return to form in 2022 after an extended period of struggles. Kohli’s innings against Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2022 is regarded as one of the best T20I knocks in the tournament. 

Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who has always been a staunch supporter of Virat Kohli, revealed why he always spoke highly of Kohli and also mentioned Sachin Tendulkar as he drew a reference of India’s batting legend.

Also read: ‘Century Loading’: Twitter reacts as Virat Kohli visits Mahakal temple in Ujjain ahead of IND vs AUS 4th Test

“See, I believe Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman in the world. But as a captain, he was lost. He left the captaincy himself. I was talking to one of my friends about Virat Kohli and we were discussing the same thing. He was lost and when he works on his mind, he will perform. When his mind became free, he ruled the T20 World Cup,” said Akhtar on Suno News.

“You also need to look that almost 40 centuries from Kohli came in run chases. Log kehte hain tum Virat ki bohot tareef karte ho, main kehta hu kaise naa karu? (People tell me that you praise Virat Kohli a lot. I just say, why shouldn’t i do that?) During one stage, India used to win because of Virat’s hundreds,” Akhtar further said.

While Kohli has scored centuries in T20Is and ODIs since his return, he is yet to score one in Test Cricket. In three matches against Australia so far, Kohli has scored 111 runs.

IPL 2024

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