Virat Kohli might retire from T20Is after World Cup: Shoaib Akhtar – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar feels that Virat Kohli may retire from T20 internationals after the upcoming World Cup in Australia.

Kohli, who had struggled for form and three-figure scores on the international stage lately, bounced back in style at the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022 with 276 runs from five matches including an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan. This was Kohli’s first century in competitive cricket since November 2019.

Akhtar said that Kohli could retire from the shortest format to extend his career in other formats.

“Kohli might just take retirement after the T20 World Cup. He may do that to extend his longevity in the other formats. If I was him, I would have looked at the larger picture and taken a call,” Akhtar said in a live session hosted by India.com.

Recently, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also touched upon the same topic and suggested that Kohli should retire from the game on a high.

“The way Virat has played, the start that he had to his career, there was struggle initially before he made a name for himself. He is a champion and I believe there comes a stage when you are headed towards retirement. But in that scenario, the aim should be to go out on a high,” Afridi said.

“It shouldn’t reach a stage where you are dropped from the team and instead when you are at your peak. It seldom happens though. Very few players, especially cricketers from Asia Cup make that decision, but I feel when Virat does it, he will do it style and probably in the same manner in which he started his career,” he concluded.

Kohli has already played 104 T20Is for India, scoring 3584 runs at an average of 51.94.

The 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia starts on 16 October. India play their first match on 23 October against arch-rivals Pakistan.

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