"Stop comparing Virat Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar"- Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar said it was time to stop comparing Virat Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar
Shoaib Akhtar said it was time to stop comparing Virat Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar

Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan's former express fast bowler, minced no words when it came to sharing his thoughts on pace bowling losing its sheen and comparing modern-day star Virat Kohli to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

In an exclusive with Sportskeeda, the 45-year-old opined that there is presently an embargo on cricket which he strongly feels needs to be lifted. He questioned,

"How many fast bowlers in the world have you seen who can bowl 150 kmph, and how many people are allowed to play this game according to the old wishes?"
"The ICC has put a lot of restrictions, and what do you want? You want TRP, you will get it. But if you got to see the characters, you need to lift the restrictions."

You can watch the video here:

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"Stop comparing Kohli to Tendulkar"- Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar was one of those bowlers who had his fair share of duels with Tendulkar and he credited the former India legend for his skills and the game he played against what the pacer believed were world-class bowling attacks.

"There’s an embargo on cricket. How can there be three circles in the field? I mean…give Sachin Tendulkar credit and stop comparing him to Virat Kohli. He did not play the era of Sachin Tendulkar, which is like the single era of 50 overs, and then the reverse swing starts literally after 10 overs. Face that with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and the spin of Shane Warne" - Shoaib Akhtar"

He also outlined how every team had their share of bonafide super quick bowlers who could clock 140 kmph consistently and lamented the fact there were just a handful in present-day cricket.

"Every team had its specialists. [Lance] Klusener, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini, there were five quality fast bowlers in every country. How many do you have now? There’s Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, but then what?" (sic)

Shoaib Akhtar was undoubtedly one of the fastest bowlers in international cricket and his 178 Test wickets and 247 ODI scalps are a testament to what he achieved when he was in his prime.

He headlined sports pages across the world for bowling a delivery at 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph), in an ODI against England during the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

Shoaib Akhtar was nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express" for his breakneck speed. He was also the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, and did so twice during his career.

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Edited by Arnav Kholkar