“He has to bid them goodbye respectfully,” Shoaib Akhtar believes it’s time India phase out Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but urges Hardik Pandya to give them RESPECT

Shoaib Akhtar believes Hardik Pandya should assume the Indian captaincy and phase out Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma with respect.

“He has to bid them goodbye respectfully,” Shoaib Akhtar believes it’s time India phase out Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but urges Hardik Pandya to give them RESPECT

Virat Kohli and Rohit during the 2019 ODI World Cup (Image via The Statemen)

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are both reaching the twilight of their cricket career. Sharma is 36 while Kohli is 35, which is the age many players consider retirement. Fortunately, the two are some of the best batters in the world, which means they could still bat at the highest level. But Shoaib Akhtar thinks it’s time the two Indian legends should be phased out of the team. 

While talking to Zee News, Akhtar praised Kohli and Sharma, saying India won’t find suitable replacements right now, but four years later the two should not be playing due to their ages. He presumes Pandya will take over captaincy after Sharma, and should phase out the stars with respect. 

YouTube video
When Dhoni came, he gave respect to Sachin Tendulkar. When Virat came, he respected Dhoni. When Rohit replaced Virat, he also gave him respect. So, now it's up to Hardik Pandya how he wants to send these two great players off. It's up to him now to put his put down. And he has to bid them goodbye respectfully. They deserve this respect.
Shoaib Akhtar to Zee News

Sharma will be discussing his future with Ajit Agarkar soon. It has been reported that he will step down from the T20 team but stay on as ODI and Test captain. Fans have presumed Kohli would continue playing cricket for the next 4-5 years, possibly taking part in the 2027 ODI World Cup. 

Shoiab Akhtar takes dig at Suryakumar Yadav after his match winning innings

In his first T20I match as captain, Suryakumar Yadav scored a match winning 80 against Australia with a strike rate of 190.47. He hit 9 boundaries and 4 maximums in his innings. During his assault of the Australian bowlers, rumors spread that Mathew Hayden joked on-air that the only way to stop Yadav was by telling him it was an ODI. 

Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar (Image via YouTube)

Shoiab Akhtar, who believed the rumor, tweeted it and called Hayden funny for his comments. Unfortunately this tweet was not received well, with fans calling him out for sharing fake news. 

https://twitter.com/vkkings077/status/1727997248204902715?s=20

India will play the 2nd T20I out of 5 on Sunday 26th November. The match will be played in the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. The Men in Blue currently lead the series 1-0. 

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