“He looked very lethal even at the later stages”: When Virat Kohli admitted no batter would want to face Shoaib Akhtar in his prime

There are many dream encounters that cricket fans would have loved to see. Virat Kohli vs Shoaib Akhtar was one such encounter that never happened, but it certainly excites everyone to imagine watching these two incredible players playing against each other. Akhtar was the fastest bowler to play the game, whereas Kohli’s class is known to everyone.

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Both of them played the 2010 Asia Cup game together in Dambulla, but Kohli got out on Saeed Ajmal’s delivery, and he could not face Akhtar. In the 2011 World Cup semi-final, India and Pakistan played in Mohali, but Akhtar was dropped from Pakistan’s Playing XI in that match.

Akhtar still expresses his disappointment about not playing in the semi-final against India in 2011 despite being fit. Both Kohli and Akhtar are pretty expressive players who are/were one of the bests in their art, and it would have been a dream encounter to watch them play against each other.

Virat Kohli admitted no batter would want to face Shoaib Akhtar in his prime

Kohli appeared on the show Breakfast with Champions in 2017, where he talked about that Dambulla game in 2010. He revealed that he did not face Akhtar, but he was looking deadly in the later stages of his career as well. Kohli insists that he felt any batter would not have wanted to face him at his peak.

“I’ve never faced Shoaib Akhtar but I’ve seen him in a game in Dambulla against Pakistan. I got out, [so] I couldn’t face him. But I saw him bowl and he looked very lethal even at the later stages of his career. At that time, I felt [that] batsmen would not have wanted to face him when he was at his peak,” Virat Kohli said.

Last year, Akhtar also talked about Kohli and said that he would not have scored so many runs if Akhtar would have bowled to him. He also insists that Kohli’s hundred would also have been much lower as compared to his current tally.