‘He said, I’ve been let down as captain…’: Wasim Akram explains what separates Virat Kohli from the rest | Cricket News

One of the finest cricketers the game has ever seen, Virat Kohli turned heads with his performances at the 2022 T20 World Cup for India. He may no longer be captain, but Kohli remains arguably India’s liveliest player on the pitch. Wasim Akramwhile talking about the qualities Kohli brings with him, highlighted how the Indian stalwart refused to let the ‘captaincy sacking’ incident affect his game and continued to give his best.

In a round table on A sportWassim Akram, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younes discussed the importance of fitness in the modern game. Malik even credited Kohli’s fitness for being such a consistent player over the years.

Akram went on to say that Kohli was so determined to give his best that he continued to push himself, both on the field and as a hitter, even after he was no longer the captain of India.

“Instead of sulking as he was dumped as captain and blah blah blah, thinking I’m just going to just stand quietly short-legged but he said no, I was dumped as captain, OK! I will play as a striker and also be the best defender in the Indian team,” Akram said.

Waqar Younis also shared his view on the subject, suggesting that usually a Pakistani player goes home once he is sacked as captain.

“In Pakistan, you go home after being stripped as captain. I don’t remember any player (from Pakistan) who was stripped as captain and went on to make an impact as a player,” Younis said.

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Shoaib Malik highlighted the fact that Kohli doesn’t hide behind his failures and looks to perform even as a defender if he fails to score from the bat.

“It’s something we have to learn from Virat Kohli. Here in Pakistan, if you’ve scored, then people walk around with their collars up. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, but always be a team man whether you scored short or not. His quality is that he plays the whole 40 overs with the same intensity. You will always see Kohli trying to help the team on the field. It doesn’t matter if he scored a hundred or got sent off for a zero,” Malik said.