'God knows what's going to happen with Virat. It's my wish that he scores 110 centuries': Akhtar backs struggling Kohli

Virat Kohli finished the recently-concluded IPL with 341 runs in 16 games before Royal Challengers Bangalore was eliminated in Qualifier-2.

Virat Kohli's dip in form has been a hot topic of debate since the batter scored his last international century in 2019. The former India captain is currently witnessing one of the worst batting slumps, having recorded three uncharacteristic 'golden ducks' for the first time in his IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kohli was leading the Indian side a year ago. Cut to the present, he isn't wearing the armband in any formats with no century under his belt in 100-plus games.

Shoaib Akhtar and Virat Kohli

India, then led by Kohli, failed to make the semi-finals of last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE but will have another shot at the title when Australia host the next edition later this year. The spotlight will again be on Kohli, who still remains an influential character in the national set-up.

Despite enduring a torrid IPL season, the Indian has been backed by former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar, who wants to see him break Sachin Tendulkar's milestone of 100 international centuries. Kohli currently has 27 hundreds in Test cricket and 43 in the ODI format, which takes his overall tally to 70 triple-digit scores.

"In the final stages of your career, it becomes inevitable or your responsibility to perform in every match. There are a lot of expectations on them. God knows what is going to happen to Kohli, but it is my wish that he scores 110 centuries and keep his goals big. But at the moment, his confidence and morale must have come down. The only way it will increase, is by performing for India," Akhtar told Sportskeeda.

Kohli finished the recently-concluded IPL with 341 runs in 16 games and Rohit Sharma -- the current all format skipper of India -- also witnessed a subdued season with 268 runs at an average of 19.14. The Mumbai Indians captain failed to notch up a single half-century in 14 games.

Akhtar said both the batters, who are in the latter phases of their career, will have added pressure when India heads into this year's T20 World Cup. He even cited the example of Tendulkar, who had to face great pressure in his journey to the hundredth ton.

"It is yet to be seen if this will be the last IPL or the last World Cup for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but, there will be pressure on them to maintain their form. In the latter part of the career, the pressure keeps on mounting. For instance, Sachin was constantly asked about being unable to score a hundred," Akhtar further added.