Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has made a bold claim, the legendary speedster feels that had he played against Virat Kohli, then the latter wouldn’t have scored so many runs in his career. The pair of them squared off against one another just once, which was back in 2010 in the Asia Cup, but in that match too, Akhtar didn’t get the chance to bowl to Kohli.
Kohli, who is currently undergoing a barren spell of sorts, hasn’t scored a century in his past 100 competitive games and has been criticised for his batting of late.
The 33-year-old has, however, in the past, made his desire public to have played Akhtar. ‘The Rawalpindi express’ in his latest interview feels that he could have ‘gotten the best out of’ Kohli.
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Speaking to Sportskeeda, Shoaib Akhtar revealed that he would have restricted Kohli to just 20-25 centuries in his career.
“Virat Kohli is a good person and a big cricketer and you only expect big words from big players. And I thank him a lot for that. But, if I would have played against Virat Kohli then he would not have scored these many runs but whatever he would have scored those would have been fabulous and it would look that he fought hard for those runs,” he stated.
The veteran Pakistani cricketer turned pundit further continued, “He may not have had 50 centuries. 20 or 25 may at the most but those would have been valiant hundreds. I would have gotten the best out of Virat Kohli.”
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Virat nonetheless was eager to have played against Akhtar, as he revealed that the Pakistani speedster was indeed looking ‘very lethal’ at the latter stages of his career.
Speaking on the popular YouTube show Breakfast with Champions in 2017, Kohli recalled the match in Dambulla between India and Pakistan.
“I’ve never faced Shoaib Akhtar but I’ve seen him in a game in Dambulla against Pakistan. I got out, (so) I couldn’t face him. But I saw him bowl and he looked very lethal even at the later stages of his career. At that time, I felt (that) batsmen would not have wanted to face him when he was at his peak,” Kohli had stated.
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The Delhi-born batter was dismissed on a golden duck in his most recent outing with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but his team were able to win the match nonetheless, and rise to second place in the IPL table.
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