Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar recently suggested that India star Virat Kohli should consider retiring from white-ball cricket after the ICC World Cup 2023 in order to manage his workload and give himself a better chance of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring 100 centuries. In an interaction with Revsportz, Akhtar said that Kohli should look into 'prolonging his Test career' and he was of the opinion that playing white-ball cricket takes a lot out of him which can hamper his chances of having a long career in Test cricket.
"I don't think he should play more 50-overs matches after this World Cup. Also, if you see him in T20s, it takes a lot out of him. I think he should play for at least six more years and break the 100 hundreds record of Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli has it in him to break the record. He should focus on Test cricket after this World Cup, and break this record," Akhtar said on the show 'Backstage with Boria' on Thursday.
While the comment did cause a bit of a stir on social media, former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly did not agree with it at all and he came up with a sharp reply to the suggestion.
"Why? Virat Kohli should play whatever cricket he wants to play. Because he performs," Ganguly said on the sidelines of an event.
Ganguly also had some advice for the Indian cricket team which faced massive criticism after losing the T20I series against West Indies.
"Pick your best players. He may be a left-hander or a right hander. India have outstanding left-handers... they will find a place in the side. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan. Then there is Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya... it's a terrific side. India is a country where there is evaluation after every game. They are a good team if they win and become bad after a loss. You have to live with that. It's part and parcel of the sport," he added.