Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has backed Virat Kohli to do well in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He said if you need to get the batsman fit, tell him there is a match against Pakistan and he will wake up .
Indian national cricket team batsman Virat Kohli lacks confidence and has not been able to score as many runs as he would have liked. The leading batsman, even though he hit a ton in the first game in Australia, failed in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he managed only around 190 runs.
Virat Kohli's form is a concern for India ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2025
With Kohli out of form, this will undoubtedly be a big concern for the Indian national cricket team going into the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, given the kind of player he is and ODI s being a whole different ball game, it won't be. be a surprise if he brings his best to the tournament.
Kohli has been nothing short of exceptional in ODIs. The Indian national cricket team's opening batsman was awarded the Player of the Tournament at the 2023 ICC World Cup, where he amassed over 750 runs, the most by any batsman in a single edition of the tournament.
Virat Kohli has always been the best in ICC tournaments
Kohli was one of the major reasons why the Indian national cricket team reached the finals of the ICC World Cup 2023. And given his history of being the best in major tournaments, he could be a valuable asset to the team in ICC Champions. The 2025 trophy.
Amidst his poor form and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 around the corner, Shoaib Akhtar was asked by a reporter, “Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not scored runs in recent times. Do you think it will affect them in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025?”
If you have to wake up Virat Kohli, tell him it's a match against Pakistan and he will wake up – Shoaib Akhtar
Responding to this, Shoaib Akhtar came up with a stunning reply saying that if you want Kohli to score, tell him there is a match against Pakistan. He pointed out that the batsman automatically wakes up when India play against the arch-rivals.
He also recalled the Melbourne batsman's innings during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 before expressing confidence in Babar Azam's return to form. He explained:
“If you have to wake up Virat Kohli, tell him it's a match against Pakistan and he'll wake up. The knock he played in Melbourne. He'll wake up. A lot of players are coming who have no problem. I hope Babar Azam from Pakistan will come and show his skills.”
Reporter : Virat & Rohit haven't scored runs lately, do you think it will affect them in CT?
Shoaib Akhtar: If you want to wake up Virat Kohli, tell him it's a match against Pak 🤣🔥 pic.twitter.com/UbamHERmfK— Pallavi (@Pallavi_paul21) January 13, 2025
Kohli's record against Pakistan was nothing short of exceptional. The Indian national cricket team batsman has always brought his best against the arch-rivals. In the 16 ODIs he played against them, he scored 678 runs at an average of around 53 to go with three centuries and two half-centuries.