Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez lavished praise on Indian star batter Virat Kohli after he scored a century in their Champions Trophy match in Dubai on Sunday. Kohli struck an unbeaten hundred, with his 51st ODI century, taking India to the verge of the semi-finals of the tournament. In a recent interaction, Hafeez threw light on how Kohli is a born performer under pressure, especially games against Pakistan. This drew a criticism towards his former teammate Babar Azam, who remained out of runs yet again.
“A high-stage performer. He looks out for big occasions and excels. Whenever India plays against Pakistan, you get a chance to loom large in the eyes of the world. For example, Malik bowled brilliantly against India, where he became a star; Shahid Afridi became a star when he hit sixes against India,” asked Hafeez during an interview with PTV.
According to Hafeez, Kohli deserves far more than being branded as the ‘king’, as he regards him the greatest batter of all time.
“Virat Kohli is always looking for those occasions. He understands how to seize such chances. He maintains an optimistic mindset, by telling himself, ‘I will win the match for India. I will not just play; I will win it for my country.’ This is why he is, for me, the world’s greatest batter.”
Hafeez also called out the PR agencies that have clubbed Babar in the same league as Kohli.
“In reality, if someone deserves to be called king, it is Virat Kohli, not Babar Azam. Look at his performance. He has performed all across the world, hasn’t become a king through PR. Call those spokespersons who made these statements and show them the mirror,” said a furious Hafeez.
This innings of his was a master class; the cover drive featured prominently-a shot that has brought on his demise at times but one that lies at the heart of his batting arsenal.
“It’s a catch-22″. I mean, it’s kind of been my weakness as well over the years, but I’ve scored a lot of runs on that shot,” Kohli said in a video posted by BCCI.
“I think today was just about backing my shots and I think the first couple of boundaries I got were cover drives on the rise, so I really had to just let it go a little bit and take a bit of risk and follow through with my shots.
“And when I play these shots, I enter a zone feel really comfortable when I’m out there batting. So it was a good innings personally and one very important for the team’s win,” he added.
