Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has been going through a tough patch in his career. It was in September, he stepped down from the T20I captaincy, following this he was sacked from ODI captaincy and was replaced by Rohit Sharma as India’s new white-ball captain. In the new year, Virat Kohli dropped a major bombshell as he stepped down from the position of Test captaincy.
Several cricket pundits and experts have come out with various theories while trying to figure out the reason behind Virat Kohli’s decision. The latest one to join the bandwagon is former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar made an immature comment on Kohli’s marriage.
Virat Kohli tied knots with Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma in December 2017. In January 2021, the power couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, and named her Vamika. The batter had taken a paternity leave from India’s 2020-21 tour of Australia to attend his child’s birth.
Shoaib Akhtar said that he wouldn’t have married had he been in a situation like Kohli had been in the last four years or so.
While speaking to Dainik Jagran he said,
“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 went on to add,
“There is pressure from the children, of the family. As the responsibility increases, so does the pressure. Cricketers have a short career span of 14-15 years in which you stay at the peak for five-six years. Those years of Virat have passed, now he has to struggle.”
When asked how the added pressure of marriage affects a player’s marriage, Shoaib Akhtar revealed that,
“Absolutely it does [the pressure of marriage, captaincy affect cricket]. There is pressure from the children, of the family. As the responsibility increases, so does the pressure. Cricketers have a short career span of 14-15 years in which you stay at the peak for five-six years. Those years of Virat have passed, now he has to struggle.”
Meanwhile, many cricketers have talked about the importance of giving time to family alongside their cricket career. South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock, at 29, announced his Test retirement last month in order to spend more time with his family. Many do reckon that Kohli might be in a similar space. However, Akhtar’s thoughts weren’t entertained by many.
Meanwhile, this is how Twitterati reacted to Shoaib Akhtar’s remarks
@AnushkaSharma is @imVkohli ‘s real life passion, you moron. Your kind knows nothing about love, that is why @shoaib100mph can marry again and again, very religiously. https://t.co/zrnAMLDMUI
— Bhiji Dr (@BhijiDr) January 24, 2022
I love cricket but seeing this kind of toxic fanaticism from @shoaib100mph is disgusting. Don’t place cricket on the pedestal of others’ life. It’s just a game & even then @imVkohli has already achieved so much that he’ll retain a legend status even if he retires now.
— Joshua Stephen (@JoshStepjn) January 24, 2022
Shoaib Akhtar’s reason for Virat’s rough performance patch- “Marriage distracted him”!!
Shoaibbhai, this must be happening in Pakistan that if you can’t do something, blame it on the wife..
We’ve got real men here. We own our sh*t..thank you!#ShoaibAkhtar #ViratKohli— Dais World ᵀᴹ (@world_dais) January 24, 2022
@shoaib100mph is seriously stupid… no wonder he was asked to leave the PTV show by @DrNaumanNiaz 😂😂😂
— HG (@Harshgo1104) January 24, 2022
Then @shoaib100mph health got deteriorated after marriage. He was able to run atleast with medication. Now his running days are over.
What a stupid analysis.— Franklyspeaking369 (@Frankopinion69) January 24, 2022