Legendary Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has shared interesting advice for run-machine Virat Kohli amid the high-profile bilateral series between India and Australia. Former Indian skipper Kohli recently ended his century drought in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the famous Narendra Modi Stadium. Kohli’s first Test century in over three years played a massive role in India’s memorable series win over Steve Smith’s Australia.
With the 2-1 series win over the Baggy Greens, Rohit Sharma and Co. made it to their second-successive ICC World Test Championship final. Akhtar, who recently backed Kohli to shatter Sachin Tendulkar’s incredible century record in world cricket, has come up with another massive statement about the talismanic leader of the Indian side. At a time when Kohli has returned to scoring ways for India across all formats, former Pakistan pacer Akhtar feels that the batting icon should only prioritise playing two of the oldest formats in international cricket.
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“As a cricketer, if you ask me, I feel he should stick with only Test and ODI formats. T20I unki energy bahot nikaal deta hai (T20I format drains a lot of his energy). He is a very excited kind of character. He wants to be out there, he wants to look good. He wants to have a good time in T20Is. He likes it. But at times, he needs to save his body. How old is he right now? 34 right? Easily he can play for about 6 to 8 years. If he plays 30-50 more Test matches, I’m sure it won’t be difficult for him to score 25 centuries in those Test matches,” Akhtar told Sports Tak.
Before his batting masterclass against Australia in the Test series decider at Ahmedabad, Kohli had failed to slam a century in 41 consecutive innings for Team India. Kohli’s 28th Test ton was also his 8th century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The batting icon has notched up 75 centuries in international cricket. The 34-year-old has amassed 8,416 runs in 108 Test matches for Team India. An in-form Kohli will lead India’s batting charge in the final of the Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval.
“However, it will still be a daunting task for him in terms of fitness and mental health. Luckily, he is a strong guy, he is a Punjabi guy. It’s great that he is in a good frame of mind. He is concentrating and having a good time with his cricket. So he should remain focused and cross the 100-century barrier. And India will reserve high praise for him. And all these trash talks about Babar Azam and Virat Kohli – these are great players. Who is bigger than Kohli or Babar in Asia? No one. So all these loose talks are done just to grab attention,” Akhtar added.
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