Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar has opened up about Virat Kohli‘s captaincy saga that took place after the Indian batter was removed as skipper of the ODI team. This month, the flamboyant batter also stepped down as Test captain of the side, which sent shock waves across the cricket fraternity.
Speaking exclusively to Sports Tak from Oman, Shoaib Akhtar, who himself was indulged in a lot of controversies during his playing days, has given a piece of unwanted advice to Virat Kohli. Akhtar feels that Virat should put behind the captaincy saga and focus on his batting.
Akhtar stated that there are “lobbies against him” and that is the reason Kohli decided to quit captaincy of the senior national team. He also said that Kohli needs to understand that he is a legend of the game and that he is capable of scoring even 50 more hundreds at the international level. He said:
“It was a tight scenario for Virat. I was in Dubai and I was aware that if he wouldn’t have won the T20 World Cup, it would have become a big problem for him and it did happen. There are lobbies against him and there are people against him and that is the reason why he stepped down,”
“Whoever enjoys the star status, will always face problems but there’s nothing to fear about. Anushka (Kohli’s wife) is a very nice lady and Virat is a great guy. He just needs to be brave and not be afraid of anything. The whole country loves him, just that these are testing times for him and he needs to come strongly out of it”
Furthermore, Akhtar also advised Virat Kohli to work hard and focus all his energy on doing well with the bat for team India. He said:
“Now that it has happened, he needs to work hard now and not work too hard. Keep it simple and just play his normal cricket. Captaincy is not an easy job – you have to handle a lot of things and there is a lot of tension that comes with that job.”
He added:
“Now that he is off the hook, he just has to make sure that he enjoys his cricket. He is great and he should know that. He just has to enhance his value. He should know that he can’t be imprisoned of his own bitterness. He should forget and forgive people and will become an even better human.”
