Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has jumped to the defence of out-of-form Virat Kohli and lashed out at the Indian captain’s critics.
Kohli’s recent struggles in international cricket have been well-documented as the star batter has failed to make an impact on the ongoing tour of England.
However, Akhtar, on his YouTube channel, defended the Indian star, and said that he is the greatest player in the last decade.
“I am hearing a lot of criticism about Virat Kohli. It is being said that he should be dropped. Virat Kohli is finished, this is right. There is nothing more left in his career, this is also right and he would not be able to do anything more in his career, this is right, these type of things other people are saying to me. I told them, Virat Kohli is the greatest player, in the last 10 years, if there has been any greatest player, it is Virat. He has 1-2 bad years, he still has scored runs, just the century has not come,” said Akhtar.
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Earlier, Kapil Dev stated that if a player like Ravichandran Ashwin can be dropped from Tests, then Kohli can be excluded from T20Is. Akhtar opened up on this and said that Dev can have his own opinion and he respects him. However, the former Pakistan pacer lashed out at Kohli’s critics, saying that they’re humiliating him in the media.
“You are just humiliating the guy in the media, to discredit him is not right, I do not know how can one talk about dropping him? Kapil Dev is my senior; I respect him and he has his own opinion. He is a legend; he can voice his opinion. A great cricketer can talk like that. Virat Kohli has 70 centuries and only a great player can score as many runs,” said Akhtar.
Akhtar advised the former Indian captain to focus on his batting and said that his current slump will help him become a better cricketer. The former Pakistan pacer also told him to not be scared and stay away from social media and avoid paying attention to criticism.
“Virat should focus on his batting, if you do not perform, there is nothing wrong. All these things are happening, these are happening so that you become a bigger cricketer. You should not be scared; one should realise that they are up against a tough cricketer. It is important that you stay at the wicket, the more you stay in the middle, the better it will become for you. You should away from social media and not pay attention to the criticism,” said Akhtar.
Earlier, the current Pakistan captain Babar Azam also came out in support of Kohli and took to Twitter and wrote a heartfelt message to former India captain Virat Kohli.
“This too shall pass. Stay strong,” Azam said in a tweet following India’s defeat in the second ODI.