Akhtar tried to highlight the reason for no comparison between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.
Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar lauded Virat Kohli's transformation over the years. He recalled the early days of Kohli in Indian cricket and called the India captain a brat like him.
Akhtar believes the team management deserves appreciation for backing Virat and playing a role in making him a brand he is right now. “Virat Kohli has reached a whole new level, but who is behind the Kohli brand?", he asked.
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"In 2010, 2011, Kohli was nowhere to be seen. 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 on a YouTube Show Cricket Baaz.
The ex-Pakistan speedster feels Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar's comparison isn't possible as the former is playing cricket in a much easy era. But he also added that it isn't Virat's fault that the others are not as competitive as him.
“It’s not his fault that he’s playing in an era of easy cricket, or if Sachin played in a tougher era or Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam have played a much more competitive brand of cricket. So if he’s scoring runs, what we can say about it?”, Akhtar said.
Kohli is often praised by Shoaib and it looks like the people of Pakistan don't appreciate him being too much fascinated by the India batsman. But Akhtar doesn't care about people getting affected because of his comments.
Akhtar feels Virat deserves every bit of admiration and he does nothing wrong in adoring a worthy player.
“I criticize India as well. But if Virat Kohli has 12,000 runs, what else you can say, Rohit Sharma has two double centuries in One Day cricket, what can you say. The enemy’s qualities should be known among us. Kohli has become the greatest batsman, what can you say, should I say he is a bad person or he is not a good player,” Akhtar said.