Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has criticized critics for praising Indian cricketers. Akhtar has been regularly reviewing the performance of the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams, where he makes no bones about describing Pakistan’s recent performance in England. But at the same time, Akhtar has also praised Indian stars such as current captain Virat Kohli and vice captain Rohit Sharma, and this has not gone well with cricket fans in Pakistan.
In a recent interaction with Cricket Pakistan, Akhtar was asked about people criticizing him for often applauding Indian cricketers. In his response, Akhtar said that the public should accept that Virat Kohli is one of the best players in the world at the moment and deserves all the praise that comes his way.
“Why shouldn’t I praise the Indian players and Virat Kohli? Is there a player in Pakistan, or around the world, who comes close to Kohli? Akhtar asked.
“I don’t know why people are angry, they should first look at the statistics before criticizing me. Do you want to take into account hatred, that just because he is Indian we will not praise him? he further said.
Akhtar went on to ask his detractors to review the statistics if they have any doubts about Kohli’s abilities.
“Kohli has 70 hundred internationals at the moment. Who else has so many hundreds right now in international cricket? How many series have you won for India? Shouldn’t I then praise him? Akhtar said.
“This is very strange. We can all clearly see that he is the greatest hitter in the world. He and Rohit Sharma are acting all the time. Why shouldn’t we praise them?” Akhtar asked further.
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be in action when the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League kicks off on September 19 in the UAE.
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