Former Pakistani pacemaker Shoaib Akhtar has once again praised Virat Kohli, saying that the India captain’s growth as a hitter over the years has been fantastic. Akhtar recalled Kohli’s early years in international cricket, calling him a “brat,” but admitted that the tremendous transformation displayed by him, along with the endorsement of the team’s leadership, deserves praise.
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“Virat Kohli has reached a whole new level, but who is behind the Kohli brand? In 2010, 2011, Kohli was not in sight. He was part of the circle; he was a brat like me. Suddenly, the system supported him. The leadership surrounded him. He also realized that there is a lot of reputation at stake, ”Akhtar said on a YouTube show Cricket Baaz.
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Akhtar weighed in on Kohli’s comparison to Sachin Tendulkar, believing that the Indian captain has played his cricket in a much easier era, although the former was quick to mention that it takes nothing away from what he has accomplished in his career. Kohli is India’s largest ODI racer and manufacturer a century after Tendulkar, and is the world leader in T20I run-getter with 2,794 runs.
“It is not his fault that he is playing in an easy cricket era, or if Sachin played in a more difficult era or Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam have the player a much more competitive cricket brand. So if you’re scoring runs, what can we say about it? Akhtar said.
Recently, Akhtar has come under fire for his repeated praise of India and his continued attacks on cricket in Pakistan. On the subject, Akhtar explained that even though he is also sometimes critical of the Indian cricket team, the fact that they have two of the best batsmen in the world in Kohli and Rohit Sharma does not leave him with enough ammunition to shoot them. .
“I also criticize India. But if Virat Kohli has 12,000 races, what else can you say? Rohit Sharma has two double centuries in one-day cricket, what can you say. The qualities of the enemy must be known among us. Kohli has become the best hitter, what can you say? Should I say that he is a bad person or that he is not a good player? ”Akhtar said.
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