Recent speculation is making round after Sohaib Akhtar hinted at Virat Kohli taking retirement after T20 World Cup. Recently, Virat ended their wait for a 71st international century when he made a sparkling 122* off 61 against Afghanistan at the Asia Cup 2022, played in the UAE.
Notably, that was Kohli’s first century in any form of cricket since November 2019. Previously, Kohli had taken a break from cricket. However, he then mentioned his struggle, mentally. Talking about the Asia Cup, Kohli made 276 runs including a century and two consecutive half-centuries.
Meanwhile, his return to form was a strong boost for India ahead of the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which starts next month. Regarding this, former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has indicated that Kohli could take retirement from T20Is post the World Cup to extend his career in ODIs and Test cricket.
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“Kohli could take retirement (from T20Is) after the T20 World Cup (in Australia). He might do so to extend his longevity in the other formats. If I was him, I would have looked at the larger picture and taken a call,” Akhtar told India.com.
It is to be noted, that Akhtar’s comments came right after another former Pakistan cricketer had suggested Kohli not wait to be dropped from the team and draw curtains on his terms.
“The way Virat has played and the start that he had to his career, there was a struggle initially before he made a name for himself. He is a champion (player) and I think there’s the time when you are approaching retirement and then, the aim should be to go out on a high,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
He added, “It shouldn’t reach a stage that you get dropped from the team. It rarely happens though (players retiring at their peak). Very few players, especially cricketers from Asian teams make such calls. I feel when Virat does it (retirement), he will do it style and maybe in the same way how he began his career.”
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