If I Would Have Played Against Virat Kohli Then He Would Not Have Scored These Many Runs - Shoaib Akhtar

Senior Indian batter Virat Kohli has captured the eyes of his fans and critics on and off the pitch for almost a decade and a half. Kohli has shattered many Indian great players’ records in his illustrious international career.

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At the age of 33, Kohli has accumulated 23650 runs across all formats in 511 innings at an average of 54.11 with 122 half-centuries and 70 centuries to his name. He is the fastest player to accomplish 10,000 ODI runs in 205 innings breaking the long-standing record of Sachin Tendulkar (259 innings).

Batsmen would not have wanted to face Shoaib Akhtar when he was at his peak: Virat Kohli

Kohli has faced some of the greatest bowlers in his path to success, he got the better of the likes of Mithcell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Trent Boult, Lasith Malinga, Pat Cummins and Tim Southee.

In one of his exclusive interviews, Kohli was thankful for not playing against former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar.

“I’ve never faced Shoaib Akhtar but I’ve seen him in a game in Dambulla against Pakistan. I got out, (so) I couldn’t face him. But I saw him bowl and he looked very lethal even at the later stages of his career. At that time, I felt (that) batsmen would not have wanted to face him when he was at his peak,” Kohli told Gaurav Kapur on his show Breakfast with Champions in 2017.

If I would have played against Virat Kohli then he would not have scored these many runs: Shoaib Akhtar

Five years after Kohli’s assertion, Akhtar mentioned that had Kohli faced his bowling then the former Indian skipper wouldn’t have piled up too many runs in his career.

“Virat Kohli is a good person and a big cricketer and you only expect big words from big players. And I thank him a lot for that. But, if I would have played against Virat Kohli then he would not have scored these many runs but whatever he would have scored those would have been fabulous and it would look like he really fought hard for those runs,” Akhtar told Sportskeeda.

“He may not have had 50 centuries. 20 or 25 may at the most but those would have been valiant hundreds. I would have gotten the best out of Virat Kohli,” he added.

Kohli is currently going through a lean patch as the fans are anticipating his 71st international hundred. The last time the Indian batter reached the three-figure mark was against Bangladesh in a Day-Night Test affair in November 2019.

Also Read: IPL 2022: ‘It’s Dangerous No One Will Be Spared, Not Even Virat Kohli’: Akhtar On Kohli’s Form