'There are lobbies against him' - Shoaib Akhtar opines why Virat Kohli stepped down as the Indian skipper

Virat Kohli announced last year that he was stepping down as the captain of the Indian T20I side after the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. And now, former Pakistan bowling great Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that it was a ‘tight’ scenario for Kohli during the T20 World Cup last year.

Akhtar added that Kohli would have encountered problems regarding his captaincy if the Indian side did not win the 2021 T20 World Cup. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ also added that there are lobbies against Kohli as well.

“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,” said Akhtar in a chat with India Today.

These are testing times for Virat Kohli: Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar also added that anybody in the game who enjoys a ‘star’ status is bound to face problems. Adding that Kohli needs to be brave at this juncture, Akhtar opined that Kohli is going through some testing times and he should come out of it strongly.

“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,” added Akhtar.

Akhtar also added that if Kohli can perform well in the coming months, he will be happy with himself and will have the possibility of scoring 120 international centuries.

“If he can give good performances in the next five-six months, he will be happy to have quit captaincy and would tell himself that he can score 120 international hundreds,” concluded Shoaib Akhtar.