India's star batsman Virat Kohli is praised all over the world. Everyone is convinced of his work ethic, fitness, and professionalism. Kohli has a lot of fans in Pakistan too. One of them is Pakistan's opener batsman Ahmed Shahzad. There was a time when Shehzad was compared to Kohli because of his looks. However, Shahzad says that like everyone else, he too is a big fan of the former India captain. He heaped praise on Kohli and credited the 34-year-old for turning around the fortunes of India's Test team.
Shahzad is confident that the bat of this star batsman will speak again soon. Kohli's "best" is yet to come, he says. We respect each other a lot. Kohli has always helped me whenever I needed any cricket advice. I respect him as a player. He has transformed himself tremendously. He was a bit healthy when he was playing in the U-19 World Cup, but the way he has transformed himself is commendable. He took India to new heights in Test cricket. I have not seen any player who has established himself so quickly in international cricket. I think Virat's best is yet to come.
During his tenure as the Indian Test captain, Kohli led the team to the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) world rankings and also won a series in Australia. He also led Team India to the ICC World Test Championship final in June 2021 at Southampton. Team India lost to Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in the final.
As far as Shahzad is concerned, the Pakistani opener made his international debut in 2009 in an ODI against Australia. So far he has played 13 Tests, 81 ODIs, and 59 T20s for Pakistan. He has 982 runs in Tests at an average of 40.92, 2605 runs in ODIs at an average of 32.56, and 1471 runs in T20Is at an average of 25.81. Shahzad last played for Pakistan in 2019 against Sri Lanka. Since then he is out of the team.
(pc amarujala)
