Dear Shoaib Akhtar,
We all know that you were a legend of the sport. With all due respect to your iconic fast bowling, this letter is from one of those Virat Kohli fans, who was not comfortable with your suggestion of him retiring.
Even albeit, we believe that you had the best interests for Kohli in your heart, there was a fundamental error that you ended doing. Virat is currently 33 years old. And being very honest, he is at the peak of his fitness, rather than he always was.
He sets new standards of fitness that others younger than him fail to match. He is still of the head, calm, composed and more importantly, now he knows what it feels like to fall. His entire career since 2019 was a glimpse of his rise. He fell from the grace and everyone had their opinions about him.
Guess what, he is back and he is back with a bang. Have you seen those strokes that he stitched together against Pakistan? Especially Shaheen Afridi, the same bowler who tormented the Indians back in 2021 was hammered mercilessly to the ropes in his final over.
However, it is not those boundaries that defines Kohli. It is his running between the wickets. Anyone at the other end isn’t too comfortable running that much. In fact, the iconic Glenn Maxwell mentioned that it is very hard to maintain the pace that he brings to 22 yards.
You know what does that signifiy? That signifies fitness at the peak level. You suggested him to drop T20s because with the same energy he would probably score three ODI centuries. Guess what, Shoaib, even without dropping T20Is, can still score 5 ODI centuries.
He is still a man in his prime and is a million miles away from the set standards of fitness. He has toiled hard and made countless sacrifices to keep himself in the same shape despite all the hindrances that have softened him up in recent times.
Let us give you a head. This Virat that you are seeing now is no longer the one who gave it back with interest to the bowlers. This is a Virat who is far greater than his previous version. He is hungry, he is focused and he is dangerous.
This Virat has come to conquer galaxies and not just bowlers. He is a man possessed with the objective of taking back what was his. He is a leader, Shoaib. If you think he is going to give up so easily, you are so mistaken. Virat ‘the king’ Kohli is back and this time he has come to hunt.
Yours sincerely,
A crazy Virat Kohli fan
