'Wanted him to marry after scoring 120 centuries': Shoaib Akhtar on Kohli's dip in form

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has taken a jibe at former Team India skipper Virat Kohli and his marriage with Anushka Sharma due to his ongoing slump with the form. Virat Kohli's century has been hard to come by for the past two years and despite two half-centuries during the South Africa ODI series, the former skipper is yet to hit the top gear. Virat Kohli has somehow found it tricky to score runs and recently resigned from the Test and T20I captaincy and was sacked as ODI skipper. 

Shoaib Akhtar speaks on Virat Kohli's poor form

With Virat Kohli under pressure to get big runs under his belt, Shoaib Akhtar in an interview with ANI said," Performance pressure is there on him (Virat Kohli) ...I wanted him to marry...after scoring 120 centuries...I wouldn't have married...had I been in his place... anyway, that's his personal decision."

Earlier while speaking to the same media house Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar who is currently playing in the Legends League Cricket has stated that Virat Kohli was forced to leave the captaincy of India. He said "Virat didn't leave captaincy but was forced to do so. This is not the best of times for him but he needs to prove what he is made of. Is he made of steel or iron? He is a great guy and a cricketer. Do not try too many things, just go out there and play cricket. He is a great batsman and has achieved more than anyone else in the world. He just needs to go out there and play with his natural flow."

He added "He plays a lot with his bottom hand and I think when the form is out, bottom hand players usually are the first ones to get in trouble. I think he's gonna come out of this. He should move forward from this and not keep any bitterness against anyone. Just forgive everybody and keep moving,".

Virat Kohli 2021 stats

Virat Kohli has had a very disappointing 2021 season so far as he has failed dot registered a single century so far. During the 2021 season Kohli played 11 matches and could only muster 536 runs at an average of 28.21.