In a recent interview with a Hindi daily, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar discussed what he would do if he were Virat Kohli and shared his thoughts on the captaincy debacle.
He said that Kohli, who resigned as India's Test captain after seven years in charge, was compelled to stand down and that if he had been in Virat's shoes, he would never have gotten married in the first place.
“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 said.
He added how things like marriage, children and family create a lot of stress and pressure on a cricketer and his responsibilities increase with time, especially when a cricketer’s career spans between 14-15 years.
“There is pressure from the children, of the family. As the responsibility increases, so does the pressure. Cricketers have a short career span of 14-15 years in which you stay at the peak for five-six years. Those years of Virat have passed, now he has to struggle," he adds.
Akhtar also made some controversial comments about the Kohli-Ganguly issue and let’s just say that most of the Indian cricket fans were not happy with it.
It has been over a month since the rivalry between the ex-Indian captain Virat Kohli and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly began after the two gave very different answers about Kohli’s decision to step down as the leader of the Indian squad in T20I cricket.
A lot of mud-slinging has been done, rumoured reports of the matters being escalated to another level have come forward and addressed by the involved parties and every now and then, some development takes place that makes the fans of the two cricketers return to the issue, even after they know that there is absolutely nothing that can change the way things turned out to be.
While talking to a news agency, Akhtar suggested that Kohli was forced to quit his Indian captaincy by the Indian cricket board and that he had to intention of giving up his ODI leadership. He also suggested that it was time for the Delhi-born cricketer to prove to the world what he’s made of.
"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? He is a great guy and a cricketer. Do not try too many things, just go out there and play cricket. He is a great batsman and has achieved more than anyone else in the world. He just needs to go out there and play with his natural flow," Akhtar told the news agency.
While many Virat Kohli fans were in total agreement with the Rawalpindi Express’ assessment of the situation, the people who side with Sourav Ganguly's version of the story or those who wanted Kohli to step down as team captain felt that Akhtar’s comments were unnecessary.
They said that the former Pakistani cricketer simply wanted to feel relevant and therefore continued to talk about old issues that don’t matter anymore. As a result, they branded him as a “stat-padder” who wishes to find some clout out of talking about Virat Kohli.
(With inputs from agencies)
