"Virat Kohli was a brat like me": Shoaib Akhtar hails management for Indian captain's transformation
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar once again heaped praise on Indian captain Virat Kohli. Akhtar, who is known for his care-free attitude and opinion, feels Kohli is at a whole new level and the management is the prime reason behind his transformation.
Kohli, who is one of the most aggressive players of the game, was involved in a couple of controversies during the initial phase of his career but he turned the things around and he also won the 2019 ICC Spirit of the Cricket Award. Akhtar also claims that Kohli was a brat like him and was nowhere to be seen in 2010-11 but he realised that there’s a lot of reputation at stake and transform himself.
“Virat Kohli has reached a whole new level, but who is behind the Kohli brand? In 2010, 2011, Kohli was nowhere to be seen. He was part of the circle; he was a brat like me. All of a sudden, the system supported him. The management went around him. He also realised that there’s a lot of reputation at stake,” Akhtar said on ‘Cricket Baaz’.
Akhtar further gave his opinion on the much talked about topic 'The Sachin vs Kohli' comparison. The former pacer said it's not Kohli's fault that he playing cricket in an easier era than that of Tendulkar.
“It’s not his fault that he’s playing in an era of easy cricket, or if Sachin played in a tougher era or Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam have played a much more competitive brand of cricket. So if he’s scoring runs, what we can say about it?” Akhtar said.
Akhtar, who has been criticized by many fans for praising Team India players and especially Kohli, said that the Indian captain has proved himself as the greatest batsman and there is no doubt about it.
“I criticize India as well. But if Virat Kohli has 12,000 runs, what else you can say, Rohit Sharma has two double centuries in One Day cricket, what can you say. The enemy’s qualities should be known among us. Kohli has become the greatest batsman, what can you say, should I say he is a bad person or he is not a good player,” Akhtar added.
