Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has lavished praises on Virat Kohli for his batting skills on many occasions. And now the bowling great believes he would have been a great friend of the current Team India captain as they both share a similar nature.
Though Akhtar mentioned that he would gel well with Kohli due to their aggressive approach, he feels the two would also enjoy a great rivalry on the cricket field, if he was still playing. However, Akhtar said he still holds enormous respect for Kohli even though the latter is younger to him.
“Virat Kohli would have been best of my friends because both of us are Punjabis and we have similar kind of nature, even though he is a lot junior to me, I really respect him,” Akhtar said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar in an ESPNCricinfo video podcast.
“We would have been best of the friends, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies,” Akhtar added.
Well, Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the modern era. The right-handed batsman has dominated with the bat in all three formats and has also emerged as a successful captain. Whenever talking about modern-day cricket, Kohli’s name is always there on the cards. His staggering numbers further attest to his immense talent and stature as a cricketer.
So far, Kohli has scored 7,240 runs in Test cricket in 86 matches, with the help of 27 centuries. The India captain has also registered 11,867 runs in 248 ODIs, with 43 tons to his name. He is also the leading run-scorer in the T20Is at the moment, with 2,794 runs in 82 games.
