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'It was as if God was telling Virat...': Shoaib Akhtar goes berserk on 15 years of 'King' Kohli
Shoaib Akhtar recalled one of Virat Kohli's finest knocks on the occasion of the former India captain completing 15 years in international cricket.
On August 18 of 2008, a young Virat Kohli made his India debut, straightaway replacing Sachin Tendulkar by opening the innings against Sri Lanka in an ODI at Dambulla. He was just 18, fresh off winning the Under-19 World Cup for India a few months ago in March, and against a bowling attack comprising Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, notched up scores of 12, 37, 25, 54 and 31 in his first five innings. Tendulkar was injured, as was Sehwag. But despite having big shoes to fill, Kohli did not flinch as a legendary career was underway. 15 years later, here we are, celebrating 15 years of King Kohli. What he has achieved is nothing short of remarkable, and with still a few years ahead of him, Kohli could and will most likely go down as India's GOAT.
On the momentous occasion, as tributes pour in from all corners, Shoaib Akhtar's golden statement takes the cake. The former Pakistan pacer, who has been extremely vocal about his support towards Kohli, recalled Virat's knock of 82 not out against Pakistan at last year's World Cup, strongly believing that Kohli was destined to succeed. Kohli was battling form a few months prior, and although he came back strongly in the Asia Cup with a fifty and a century, his real test was the World Cup. With India in tatters at 33/4 against Pakistan, Kohli was the last-man standing and what he did from there to win the game for his side is once-in-a-lifetime stuff.
"That match was all about Virat 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 as of God was telling him – this is your stage, come and become king again. 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 that 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," Akhtar said on the show 'Backstage with Boria' on RevSportz.
Akhtar's World Cup message for Pakistan
The World Cup 2023 will be Pakistan's first 50-overs WC in India since 2011 (they had come to play the World T20 in 2016). None of the players expected to be part of this squad was around when Pakistan faced India in the semifinal at Mohali 12 years ago. Even for some of Pakistan cricket's biggest stars, this is their first tour of India and Akhtar wants the boys to soak in every moment of the experience that lies ahead.
"This World Cup could well be the most amazing 50-over tournament we have seen. I don’t know what is in store for the 50-over format after this, so this is a massive occasion for the sport itself. And that’s why my advice to the Pakistan boys – Babar, Shaheen, Naseem – is that you don’t know if you will ever play in India again, or when such a thing can happen. While I believe India will come to Pakistan in 2025, this is an occasion that each of the Pakistan players should cherish," added Akhtar.
