Mohammad Yousuf backs Virat Kohli to end his century drought soon

The Indian skipper has not hit a ton in international cricket since 2019.

By Salman Anjum - 01 May, 2021

Virat Kohli’s century drought might be a concern for his fans, but Pakistan batting great Mohammad Yousuf reckons that the Indian skipper is in his prime and it is a matter of time before he starts piling up hundreds again.

Read Also: Mohammad Yousuf credits his conversion to Islam for his brilliant performance after 2006

Notably, who features in the top 5 rankings across all forms of the game, has not hit a ton in international cricket since 2019.

“Kohli is only 32 and this is the age at which top batsmen hit prime and it is only a matter of time before he starts getting hundreds again,” Yousuf said in an interview, as quoted by PTI.

“To achieve what he has already achieved is formidable and to me, scoring 70 Test and One-day International hundreds (by Kohli) is extreme,” he added.

Yousuf, who has represented his country in 90 Tests and 288 ODIs, refrained from comparing Kohli with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

“He (Kohli) has done it and jitney praise karo isko kum hai (no matter how much we praise him, it is less). But at same time I don’t think there is a comparison between him and Sachin (Tendulkar).

“Tendulkar was a different class altogether. He scored 100 international hundreds and keep in mind the era he played in and the bowlers he played against,” said the former Pakistan captain.

Yousuf also explained why India continues to produce technically sound batsmen as compared to Pakistan.

“Their young batters have always had role models to follow from one era to another. That is why even today, they (India) are producing better batsmen. I was lucky that when I started playing I had players like Inzamam ul Haq and Saeed Anwar to look up to and was also coached by a great like Javed Miandad.”

According to Yousuf, stakeholders in Pakistan cricket need to seriously think about the future because there was a dire need to unearth quality young batters.

“Or else, we will face more problems in batting in future,” Yousuf, who is now a batting coach at the PCB’s high performance centre, said.

“T20 is fun cricket and I see it as a blessing in disguise as it had immensely improved the financial status of our players. But at same time, I think you can even be successful in this format by sticking to the basics and intelligent cricket with less percentage of risky shots.”

(With PTI inputs)

By Salman Anjum - 01 May, 2021

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