Shoaib Akhtar makes bold claims about Virat Kohli, says ‘Kohli would have struggled against him’
Shoaib, Akhtar, Virat Kohli (Image Credit : BCCI/IPL)
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has said that he would not had allowed Virat Kohli score 50 international hundreds. Notably, Kohli has hit 70 international hundreds, 43 in ODIs and 27 in Tests. Since November 2019, he hasn’t been able to hit a century in any form of the game. In the 50-over format, the 33-year-old is close to breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 hundreds.
Meanwhile, Akhtar said that if he had played against the former India skipper, the latter may not have gotten 50 centuries. Instead, the speedster believes that Kohli would have got 20 to 25 tons but those would have been hard fought knocks. The former speedster further added that he would have gotten the best out of Kohli.
“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 really fought hard for those runs. 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,” Akhtar said as quoted by MSN.com
On the other hand, in 2017, Kohli had revealed that he would have loved to face Akhtar. In a game against Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup, Kohli and Akhtar played against each other. However, Kohli got out before Akhtar could bowl to him.
“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 said.
