Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has always supported India captain Virat Kohli. He has been vocal about his liking towards him despite getting criticized for being biased.
Akhtar, in a recent interview, slammed those who raise finger at him for praising Kohli. He said Virat is one of the best players currently and way ahead than any current Pakistan cricketer statistically.
“I don’t know why people are angry, they should go look at the stats first before criticizing me. Do they want to keep the hatred in mind, that just because he is an Indian, we will not praise him?”, Akhtar told Cricket Pakistan.
Shoaib pointed out that India and Pakistan cricketers have different mindsets. He also added that India's cricket team has been led by strong characters, unlike Pakistan.
“Why do you always try to find faults, why don’t you try and be like them. There was a time when Indians wanted to be like Pakistan. Now, Pakistan wants to be like Indians,” Akhtar said.
“In the late 90s, India would raise their hands that we don’t want to play in Sharjah against Pakistan. Our mindset was made to change by bringing average people on the top. They brought average people to be the captain of the team. Look at what India got - they made Virat Kohli the captain, an aggressive player. Who did we bring?”, Akhtar added.
Shoaib is not happy with the way Pakistan cricket is functioning and he had recently slammed the chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq over Pakistan's performance on England tour.
