After enduring an extended lean patch, Virat Kohli is back to scoring runs consistently. He slammed his 29th Test century during the red-ball series against West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval last month.
The star Indian batter now has 76 hundreds to his name across formats, only behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 100 international tons. He has played 111 Tests, 275 ODIs and 115 T20Is so far, amassing more than 25000 international runs.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has suggested Kohli to quit white-ball cricket after the 2023 World Cup and focus on Test cricket with an aim to equal Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries.
“Kohli should focus on Test cricket and aim to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international 100s. I think he should play for at least 6 more years. Kohli has it in him to break the record. He should focus on Test cricket after this World Cup,” said Akhtar on Backstage With Boria World Cup Special on Revsportz.
The last time Pakistan and India clashed at the T20 World Cup 2022, Virat Kohli proved to be a nightmare for the Pakistani bowlers.
Chasing 160 to win, the Men in Blue were in dire straits at 31/4 after 6.1 overs. Amid the pressure situation, Kohli rose to the occasion as he smashed 82* off 53 balls and shared a 113-run stand with Hardik Pandya (40 off 37 balls) to script India’s nail-biting four-wicket victory.
"That match was all about Kohli. The cricket gods wanted to do it for him. He wasn’t in the best of form and was facing a lot of heat from you guys in India. The media was after him. It was God's way of telling him - this is your stage, come and become king again,” Akhtar stated.
“If you see all that transpired, rain and a lot of it, 100,000 people, 1.3 billion Indians watching, 30 crore Pakistanis watching, the whole world in awe - the stage was set for Kohli. It was the greatest stage of all. When you add the two sixes he hit off Haris Rauf, that match gave him back his kingdom. I think it was all destined for him on that day at the MCG," he further remarked.
Virat Kohli will be next seen in action during the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, slated to be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
