I want Virat Kohli to retire from T20 cricket and use his energy to score centuries in ODIs: Shoaib Akhtar

Pakan icon Shoaib Akhtar heaped praise on Virat Kohli after his unbeaten 82 against Pakan in Sunday’s T20 World Cup encounter between the archrivals. Akhtar, who has always been a vociferous supporter of Kohli during his lean patch, said, “According to me, he played the greatest innings of his life against Pakan. He played like this because he had the self belief that he will do it.”
“He was down and out for 3 years, he didn’t score runs, he was stripped of his captaincy and a lot of people said a lot of things to him. People even dragged his family into it but he kept training and put in the graft 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,” the Pakan legend added.
Akhtar also said that he wanted Kohli to retire from T20 cricket because he did not want Kohli to put all his energy in that format of the game only. “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,” he said.

The former Pakan speedster also showered plaudits on the Pakan cricket team, saying they had done marvelously well. “Pakan, don’t lose heart. You played really well. Iftikhar, I have criticised you but you have played a brilliant innings. Shan Masood, you were brilliant. Naseem Shah, you were absolutely great and Shaheen, you work on your fitness because you are not fully fit,” he said.
Akhtar also felt that Pakan were playing a bowler less and said that this needed to be rectified. He also termed the recent clash between the two neighbours as one of the best matches in hory.