Would have instigated Virat Kohli to pull or cut me: Shoaib Akhtar

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar believes if he were playing today, India skipper Virat Kohli and him would have been friends and enemies at the same time. "We are both Punjabis with a big heart. We would have been best of friends off-field and fierce enemies on-field," Akhtar said while speaking in the latest episode of ESPNcricinfo Videocast.

"With Virat if you fight, he gets more focused. So to bowl him out, I would try to get him to lose focus. I would try to get into his head. At my extreme pace, I would have instigated him to pull me or play a cut because he doesn't have these two shots.

"I know he loves to drive, so again at my extreme pace, I would get him to drive and would have kept talking to him in between. Something like what (James)Anderson did to him in England," he added.

Commenting on the batsmen he would not be able to bowl out, the 'Rawalpindi Express' said: "To be honest, it's Inzamam-ul-Haq. See my action is very complicated unlike Bret Lee's but I could not bowl him out even once in the nets in 10 years. I think he could read the ball a second faster than others."

He also praised few other batters like Martin Crowe and Rahul Dravid. "I think Martin Crowe would have played me well too. He was a magician and very elegant. Among Indian players, Rahul Dravid is the most decorated batsman. If he won't offer me a shot, I would not be able to penetrate his defense. I also think Jacques Kallis is one of the best all-rounders, and slip fielders cricket has ever produced." IANS 

Also Read: Sri Lanka cricketer Shehan Madushanka detained for alleged possession of drugs