Virat Kohli was nowhere to be seen in 2010 and 2011, he was a brat like me: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been quite vocal about affairs in international cricket of late. Recently, he was criticized by former Pakistan cricketers for praising Indian cricketers including the Indian national team captain Virat Kohli, who recently completed 12 years in international cricket. Defending himself for praising Kohli, Akhtar had recently said that former Pakistan cricketers should look at their statistics before getting angry at him for praising Kohli.

Akhtar, who last played an international match in 2011, recently revealed he is in talks with PCB for a major post. However, the board denied that they have offered Akhtar any kind of job. Akhtar had said he is ready to put himself in line of fire and leave his comfortable life to build a great pool of players for the Pakistan team.

On a YouTube show ‘Cricket Baaz,’ the 45-year-old former pacer, also known as ‘Rawalpindi Express’, stated that Virat Kohli has reached a whole new level. He added that Kohli was nowhere to be seen in 2010 and 2011. “He was part of the circle; he was a brat like me. All of a sudden, the system supported him. The management went around him. He also realized that there’s a lot of reputation at stake,” Akhtar said.

Not Kohli’s fault that he is playing in an era of easy cricket: Shoaib Akhtar

Akhtar also took a sly dig at Kohli saying it is not the Team India captain’s fault that he is playing in an era of easy cricket. “It’s also not his fault that Sachin Tendulkar played in a tougher era or Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq played a much more competitive brand of cricket.  So if he is scoring runs, what can we say about it,” Akhtar further stated.

Kohli, in an interview with Mayank Agarwal for BCCI, had said that his wife Anushka Sharma made him see a different side altogether. He added that he is so grateful that she is his life partner.

“I was a very closed person before, wasn’t very practical. When you see another person and know that your life partner has a different outlook to things, you invariably are challenged to see another point of view,” Kohli told Mayank.