Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar is confident that Virat Kohli will come out of this horrible phase of his career while saying the widespread criticism will only make the Indian star even stronger.

He further suggested Kohli move on from his stint as Team India captain and not pay any attention to the outside world, and just focus on himself while predicting he would score 100 international centuries.

Shoaib Akhtar said on his official YouTube channel: “As a Pakistani, I'm supporting Virat Kohli because of 70 centuries... it's not Candy Crush. Only a great player can score these many centuries, a normal player can't do that. When Virat Kohli comes out of this phase, it will be a different Virat Kohli. There are some things that he needs to work on.”

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The former pacer further said: “You need to forget your stint as captain now. Move on from that. Just focus on yourself as a batter. You can't get runs? No problem. People are criticizing you? No problem. All of this will only make you stronger. You have to score 30 more hundreds. I have predicted 110 for you. You're still young, you're quite fit.”

Meanwhile, Akhtar also highlighted that Kohli is making mistakes because he is desperate for runs. He added, “Don't be scared. Bowlers should know that they are going up against a strong guy. And you have been that person. Focus on yourself. Stay composed. You won't get runs by hitting. You need to stay in the middle. There are some things which you might not be able to implement right now.”

He signed off by saying, “But then, you're not giving yourself time. You're showing frustration. You can't move past your rough patch this way. Stay calm, go off social media for a few days, forget the criticism.”