Virat Kohli was 'forced' to leave India's captaincy: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar reckoned that Virat Kohli should not have taken up the national team captaincy in his prime. Kohli had recently given up Test captaincy following the 2-1 loss against South Africa and it came at a time after being sacked from ODI captaincy a month before. A lot of experts felt that his own batting form has been affected due to the extra responsibility.

Kohlis’ captaincy record for India in Tests has been incredible but he has not hit a century in international cricket since November 2019. Moreover, the 33-year-old also denied BCCI’s claims of the board asking him to not quit the T20I captaincy. It certainly shows that things are not in the right place for Kohli. Rohit Sharma is expected to be the man to replace Kohli as Test captain but there could be some interesting choices in the wings as well.

Had I been Virat Kohli, I wouldn’t have even married: Shoaib Akhtar

Akthar, who is currently part of the ongoing Legends League Cricket 2022, noted that he has never been of the opinion that Kohli should be leading India as the captain and instead wanted him to continue his dominance as a batter. The former speedster even stated that he wouldn’t have thought of marrying if he were in Kohli’s shoes as it would him prohibit from enjoying the game anymore.

“Virat didn’t leave captaincy but was forced to do so. This is not the best of times for him but he needs to prove what he is made of. Is he made of steel or iron? Virat captained for 6-7 years and I was never in favour his Captaincy, I just wanted him to keep scoring 100, 120 runs and keep the focus on his batting,” Akhtar told while speaking to Dainik Jagran

Akhtar also talked about the love people have for Kohli in the country and wanted him to enjoy the moments to the maximum. Kohli married Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma in 2017 and he has a daughter named Vamika as well.

“I would have not even married if I were in his place. I had just scored runs and enjoyed cricket, these 10-12 years of cricket are different time and doesn’t come again, I am not saying getting married is wrong but If you are playing for India, you would have enjoyed a time a little. fans are crazy about Kohli and he had to maintain that love he is getting for the last 20 years,” Akhtar added