‘As a Pakistani, I am saying that….’ – Shoaib Akhtar makes bold statement on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli hasn’t really been at his best for quite a while now. He has struggled to consistently score runs. Besides, he was below-par during the recently concluded Indian T20 League 2022.

Kohli was only able to score 341 runs at an average of 22.71, and a strike rate of 115.98 in the 2022 edition. In the process, he also scored three golden ducks. While he was only able to score two half-centuries in this edition. He failed when it mattered the most. The 33-year-old scored 25 and 7 in the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 respectively. Thus, this led to several pundits and experts criticizing him. As a matter of fact, many fans have started to feel that this is the end of the “Kohli era”.

However, Shoaib Akhtar has come in support of the batting maestro. He asked Kohli’s critics to give the batter the respect he deserves. He also stated that the Indian batter is the greatest player of all time. Akhtar then said that he wanted Kohli to score 110 international centuries.

“Before passing statements, people should understand that small kids look up to them. Say good things about Virat Kohli. Give him the respect he deserves. As a Pakistani, I am saying that he is the greatest player of all time. I want him to score 110 centuries in international cricket. I want him to play till the age of 45,” said Shoaib Akhtar, while speaking to Sportskeeda.

The “Rawalpindi Express” also drew light on how Kohli gets criticized no matter what he does. Further on, he urged the Delhi batter to prove his critics wrong. Thus, it will be exciting to see if Kohli does end up getting back to the groove.

“This tough situation is preparing you for 110 centuries. People are writing you off, tweeting against you. If you tweet about Diwali, you are criticised. People tweet about your wife and kid. When you lose the World Cup, you are heavily criticised. Things cannot get any worse. Just go out there, and show everyone who Virat Kohli is,” Akhtar added.