Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has made a bold statement. He said that had Virat Kohli been part of the era he played, the batter wouldn’t have scored 30 or a maximum of 50 centuries as the pacers during that time were deadly and wouldn’t have given easy runs to him.
Virat Kohli and Shoaib Akhtar – the finest to have played cricket
Virat Kohli, the name speaks for itself. The India batter is arguably the best batter of the current generation and is considered among the greats to have played the game. The batter has created and broken many batting records and the way he’s going, it’s fair to say that he can etch his name in many other records as well.
Kohli currently has 25322 runs in 497 international games with 75 centuries and 130 half-century scores to his name. He’s also the sixth-highest scorer in world cricket and the second-highest among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar (34357 runs).
On the other hand, Akhtar was one of the fastest pacers the sport has witnessed. The fast bowler was the most lethal during his time. He broke numerous records, including being the first bowler to officially break the 100 mph speed barrier.
Not a big fan of edits but just want to share this 💔
No one can ever match his shear pace and Class
One and only “ Shoaib Akhtar “
Oh man oh man , Those days ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HV5V9GC7DrAdvertisement— Cric mate (@matecric00) March 15, 2023
Mostly known for his aggressive personality, Akhtar represented Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs, and 15 T20Is. He took 178 wickets in the longest format of the game and bagged 247 wickets in the 50-over format to go with 19 T20I wickets.
“Kohli would haven’t scored 30 or a maximum of 50 hundreds if he was a part of my era,” Shoaib Akhtar makes a bold statement
With the kind of aggression Virat Kohli possesses and the lethal fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was, many fans have wished for a battle between the duo. But it couldn’t happen. However, the former Pakistan pacer has made a bold statement.
Virat Kohli averages 53.2 in International cricket since Asia Cup 2022.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 23, 2023
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He said that had Kohli played in his era, the batter wouldn’t have scored 30 or 50 tons as the fast bowlers were lethal during that time. He elaborated:
“Virat is a great batter, but we had great bowlers during my time, and Kohli would haven’t scored 30 or a maximum of 50 hundreds if he was a part of my era. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were deadly and wouldn’t have given easy runs to Virat. However, those hundreds would have been quality ones considering the level of bowling.”
Notably, both Kohli and Akhtar once played in a game together. It was during a match between India and Pakistan in Asia Cup 2010 in Sri Lanka when they featured in the playing XI of their respective teams but Kohli’s early dismissal denied the contest.
