Shoaib Akhtar stated, “Virat Kohli hasn’t been middling the ball really well.”
Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar implies that Virat Kohli might have to give up T20Is if he wants to score another 30th and reach the 100th. Akhtar also mentions, Kohli could become the best player if he reaches that mark. So far, Kohli has 70 international centuries and as of November 2019, the score has not exceeded over 100.
Kohli is now India’s top scorer in the 2022 Asian Cup, going 35 off 34 against Pakistan and an unbeaten 59 off 44 against Hong Kong in the final two innings. But the former Pakistani speedster feels Kohli hasn’t kept the ball centered lately, calling the Asian Cup‘s second innings “patchy”.
Shoaib Akhtar mentioned on his official YouTube channel “Virat Kohli hasn’t been middling the ball really well. Both innings were quite patchy. He scored 59, I wish him the best. My only suggestion to Kohli is to just wait till the T20 World Cup, if this format suits you or doesn’t suit you, you have to score 30 more centuries.
Shoaib Akhtar Wishes for Kohli to Break Sachin Tendulkar’s Record
Akhtar said Kohli needs to convince himself he is the greatest ever. He said it would be the hardest for Kohli to acquire in the next 30 centuries. The 47-year-old went on to say he wants the former Indian captain to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s international record for most of the centuries.
Akhtar further adds “You have to convince yourself that you are the greatest ever. This is going to be the hardest 30 centuries — if he scores. When he goes to the longer formats, he will get time to settle. Here (T20I), he is trying but the time is less, you have to maintain a good strike rate, you have to ensure the team wins. I really want him to score a 100 centuries and break Sachin Tendulkar’s record. It looks impossible right now, but this man can do it.”