Virat Kohli reveals that he did not want to face Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling — Watch Video

Virat Kohli has always spoke highly of Pakistani bowler Mohammad Amir's skills but he is not the Pakistani bowler he did not want to face in his career

By: Arun Rawal |
November 4, 2017 5:36 pm

Tags: Virat Kohli,

Virat Kohli is arguably the best batsman in the world in the current generation. Kohli has been on a record-breaking spree with every half-century or century scored. Given the marvellous form he is in, it will be safe to assume that Kohli is unafraid to take a strike against any bowler in the world.

In a candid interview with Gaurav Kapur, Kohli revealed that in the initial stage of his career, there was indeed a bowler he was reluctant to face. And that he was better off watching from the non-striker end. He was none other than former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar aka Rawalpindi Express.

On Breakfast with Champions, this is exactly what Kohli said about facing Akhtar,

I never faced Shoaib Akhtar but I saw him bowl in Dambulla. Even in the latter part of his career, he looked lethal. After watching Shoaib Akhtar, I thought when he was at his peak, would’ve been better to be at non-striker’s end when he was bowling.

Here’s the full interview of Indian skipper (two parts):

The above incident dates back to 2009 during an Asia Cup fixture at Dambulla. Kohli got out before facing Akhtar. Though for cricket fans, it would have been a battle to revisit on Youtube.