India skipper Virat Kohli has revealed that even though he never faced former Pakistan express pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar, the thought of doing so terrified him.
Kohli, widely regarded as a modern-day great and the best limited-overs batsman going around currently, has never faced the man nicknamed the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ during his career.
In his prime, Akhtar was renowned for his extraordinary pace and bounce and terrorized many a batsmen during his career for Pakistan.
Kohli was appearing on the television show ‘Breakfast with Champions’ when he made these remarks.
While talking about the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka during 2009, the batting supremo revealed it would have been better to be at the non-striker’s end when the Pakistan pacer was bowling.
“I never faced Shoaib Akhtar but I saw him bowl in Dambulla. Even in the latter part of his career, he looked lethal. After watching Shoaib Akhtar, I thought when he was at his peak, would’ve been better to be at non-striker’s end when he was bowling,” Kohli said.
Kohl had been dismissed before Shoaib Akhtar had come onto bowl during the 2009 match missing the chance to face the Pakistan quick at least once in his career.
During the conversation the Indian skipper also said the next Pakistan bowler he was terrified of facing was Mohammad Irfan, the seven-foot plus pacer.
Kohli’s comments did not go unnoticed by the Rawalpindi-born Akhtar who said that it would have been a great contest bowling against the Indian maestro and acknowledged him as a great batsman.
The India skipper turns 29-years-old on Sunday although he had to face the ignominy of a 40-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the second T20I between the two sides on Saturday.