"He Said, I Got Dropped As Captain...": Wasim Akram Explains What Separates Virat Kohli From The Rest

One of the finest cricketers the game has ever seen, Virat Kohli has turned heads with his performances in the T20 World Cup 2022 for India. He might not be a captain any more but Kohli arguably remains the most lively Indian player on the field. Wasim Akram, while speaking of the qualities that Kohli brings with him, highlighted how the Indian stalwart refused to let the 'captaincy sacking' incident affect his game and continued to deliver his best.

In a panel discussion on A Sports, Wasim Akram, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis discussed the importance of fitness in the modern game. Malik even credited Kohli's fitness as the reason behind him being such a consistent player over the years.

Akram then said that Kohli is so determined to deliver his best that he continued to push himself, both in the field and as a batter even after he no longer was India's captain.

"Instead of sulking as he got dropped as a captain and blah blah blah, telling himself I will just stand quietly at short fine-leg but he said no I got dropped as a captain, fine! I will play as a batter and also be the best fielder in the Indian side," Akram said.

Waqar Younis also shared his views on the topic, suggesting usually, a Pakistani player goes back home once he gets dropped as captain.

"In Pakistan, you go home after you are dropped from captaincy. I don't remember any player (from Pakistan) who got dropped from captaincy and continued to make an impact as a player," Younis said.

Shoaib Malik stressed on the fact that Kohli doesn't hide behind his failures and looks to perform even as a fielder if he fails to score runs from the bat.

"This is something we've got to learn from Virat Kohli. Here in Pakistan, if you've scored runs, then people roam around with their collars up. There's no harm in doing that but always be a team man whether you have scored runs or not. His quality is that he plays the entire 40 overs with the same intensity. You will always see Kohli trying to help out the team in the field. It doesn't matter whether he has scored a hundred or has been dismissed for a zero," Malik said.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Virat Kohli Wasim Akram Shoaib Malik Waqar Younis Misbah-ul-Haq ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Cricket