Virat Kohli was forced to leave India's Test captaincy: Shoaib Akhtar
New Delhi : Former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar on Sunday claimed that Virat Kohli was forced to leave the test captaincy for India. In 2021, Virat Kohli had resigned from T20I captaincy and then he was removed from the ODI captaincy.
Last week, Virat had stepped down as India's Test captain after losing the series to South Africa. Akhtar who is currently participating in the Legends League Cricket, told news agency ANI: "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 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," he added.
He also spoke about the next Test captain and mentioned that BCCI will make a "smart decision".
On Friday, the schedule for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 has been announced. Team India will be facing their arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of the tournament on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The Men's T20 World Cup 2022 is slated to be held in Australia between October 16- November 13 and it will be played across seven venues -- Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart, and Perth.
