'Wouldn't have married if I was Kohli' - Shoaib Akhtar on Kohli's struggles

The last few weeks haven't been great for Virat Kohli. After getting axed as India's ODI captain, he went on to quit the Test captaincy after India lost the three-match Test series to South Africa by 1-2 under his leadership.

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However, Shoaib Akhtar recently spoke about the batting maestro and made a big statement about his personal life. The former Pakistan pacer also stated that he was never really in favour of Kohli being the captain. While speaking to Dainik Jagran, Akhtar felt that the 33-year-old was forced to leave captaincy

"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? Virat captained for 6-7 years and I was never in favour of his Captaincy, I just wanted him to keep scoring 100, 120 runs and keep the focus on his batting," said Shoaib Akhtar.

Further on, the 46-year-old added that he wouldn't have got married if he was in the Indian batter's place. He then spoke about Kohli's enormous fanbase in India, and how people love and adore him. Thus, he was of the opinion that the legendary batter should have concentrated on just piling runs and records for 10-12 years instead of getting married.

"I would have not even married if I were in his place. I had just scored runs and enjoyed cricket, these 10-12 years of cricket are different time and doesn't come again, I am not saying getting married is wrong but If you are playing for India, you would have enjoyed a time a little. fans are crazy about Kohli and he had to maintain that love he is getting for the last 20 years," he said.

It is to be noted that Akhtar is currently a part of the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2022. In the meanwhile, Kohli scored two fifties in the three-match ODI series against the Proteas. However, the Bavuma-led side managed to whitewash the men in blue and thus, won the series.