Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar believes Virat Kohli is capable of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 centuries record in international cricket but must take a call on his T20I career if continues to struggle till the World Cup in Australia later this year.
Indian star batter Virat Kohli has been urged by former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar to reconsider his future in T20Is post World Cup in Australia as he believes the ex-India captain can shatter Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries.
Currently, Kohli has 70 centuries to his name but hasn’t touched the triple figure in the past three years. At the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE, the 33-year-old batter has scored 35 runs (vs Pakistan) and 59 (vs Hong Kong respectively) but has been far from his best, believed Akhtar.
“Virat Kohli hasn’t been middling the ball really well. Both innings were quite patchy,” said the 47-year-old ‘Rawalpindi Express’ on his YouTube channel. “He scored 59, I wish him best. Mera ye hi mashwara hoga Kohli ko ki dekh lo World Cup tak (My only suggestion to Kohli is to just wait till the T20 World Cup), if this format suits your or doesn’t suit you. 30 centuries karni hain aur aage (you have to score 30 more centuries).”
Kohli hasn’t hit a century in three years with his last coming against Bangladesh in 2019.
Akhtar further added that Kohli could become the greatest player ever by breaking Sachin’s record but must channel his energy in the longer formats of the game, where he will have more opportunities to settle down at the crease.
“You can become the greatest player forever. 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 longest formats, he will get time to settle. Here, he is trying but the time is less, you have to maintain a good strike-rate, you have to ensure the team wins. He is positive, he is aggressive.. he is a great player, but 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,” Akhtar said.
India will take on Pakistan in a mega Sunday clash in Super 4 stages in Dubai.
The Indian outfit comfortably reached the stage by defeating Pakistan and Hong Kong in Group A. Pakistan setup the clash by beating Hong Kong convincingly in the final group match.
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