Shoaib Akhtar desires that Virat Kohli give up Twenty20 cricket.

• Shoaib Akhtar stated he wanted Kohli to stop playing Twenty20 Internationals.
• He praised Kohli’s innings, terming it “the greatest inning of his life”

KARACHI: After Virat Kohli led the Men in Blue to a historic victory against Pakistan in their T20 World Cup 2022 opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar stated he wanted Kohli to stop playing Twenty20 Internationals.

A crowded MCG witnessed one of the best individual performances in the game’s shortest format as Kohli scored 82 runs off 53 balls under duress to lead his team to the big event’s inaugural victory.

“I want him to retire from T20I because I don’t want that he puts his entire energy in T20I cricket. If he used all his might like he did today, he can score three centuries in ODIs,” Akhtar said on his official YouTube channel.

The Rawalpindi Express lavished praise on Kohli’s innings, terming it “the greatest inning of his life”.

“According to me, he played like this because he had the self-belief that he will do it,” the former speedster added.

“He was down and out for three years, he didn’t score runs, he was stripped of his captaincy and many people said many things to him. People even dragged his family into it but he kept training and just a day before Diwali he played a firecracker on an innings. He decided that this place and this stage is perfect for his comeback. The king is back and he is back with a bang and I am really happy for him. He is a great cricketer,” he said.

It should be mentioned that the talented batsman recovered his form against Afghanistan in the T20 Asia Cup 2022 Super Four match, scoring his first century in nearly three years.