Pakistan cricket star Sohail Khan faced a massive backlash from fans following his comments on premier India batter Virat Kohli. Sohail Khan’s ‘demeaning’ remarks about Virat Kohli came during a recent podcast where he revealed his run-in with the Indian maestro during the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia.

Virat Kohli was the hero of India’s victory over Pakistan in the prestigious competition, with a score of 107 at the time. However, the Delhi-born player was involved in a heated exchange with the Pakistan bowler during his masterful knock.

“Virat came. He said to me ‘Aap cricket mein abhi aaye hain. And itni baatein karte ho (You’ve just arrived, and you speak so much). I was a Test cricketer back then. I had played Test matches in 2006-07. Then in between, I endured a troubled knee, which forced me out of action. I said, ‘Beta jab tu Under-19 khel raha tha na, tera baap Test cricketer tha‘ (Son, when you were playing Under-19 for India, your father was a Test player). That’s how I said it. Then, if you look carefully, Misbah intervened, and he got angry at me. He asked me to keep quiet,” Sohail Khan said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.

“MS Dhoni, on the other hand, came to Kohli and told him ‘Kohli, be on the side. He is an old rice [seasoned player], you don’t know him,” Sohail Khan added.

 

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However, this isn’t the first time Sohail Khan has made controversial remarks about the Indian superstar.

Previously, he said that Virat Kohli’s sixes on the bowling of Haris in last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia were easy shots.

“Abhi jo Haris Rauf ko jo chakka maara hai usne (Kohli). Peeche hatt ke yun straight ka jo mara hai…(The straight six that Virat Kohli hit against Haris Rauf in T20 World Cup by creating room for himself),” the host said before Sohail Khan continued: “…wo mere khayal se Shaheen ko mara tha (That I think came on the bowling of Shaheen Afridi).”

“Chakke to lagte rehte hai. Nahi nahi. Koi bhi (mushkil) nahi. (Sixes do come in matches. It was not a difficult shot),” Sohail Khan stated.

Sohail Khan’s claim was contrary to the opinion of several former cricketers, including Australia great Greg Chappell, who labeled Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82-run-knock against the Babar Azam led side as the greatest T20 innings ever.

“The Bhagavad Gita is the holy book which is the synthesis of Hinduism. Literally translated, it means ‘the song by God’. Virat Kohli played an innings that was as close to a ‘song by god’ as has ever been played in T20 cricket,” Greg Chappell wrote in his column for an Australian media outlet at the time.

“Like a cat playing with a new skein of wool, Kohli teased then expertly picked apart an excellent Pakistan bowling attack until it lay unravelled, spent and exposed on the green carpet of the MCG,” the former Australian batter pointed out.

“It was an innings that showcased the art of batting like no other that I have seen in a lifetime of watching cricket. Ironically, it was also the innings that legitimised T20 cricket as, dare I say it, an art form, more than any that I have seen in the past 15 years. It gave me immense pleasure as it was played by one of the staunchest supporters and exponents of Test cricket of the past 145 years,” Greg Chappell elaborated.

“I can think of many of the best hitters in the modern game who could have pulled off a similar victory, and probably have, but none has ever done it with pure batting skills in the manner that Kohli did against Pakistan. Only Adam Gilchrist has come close in the past, but this was even more esoteric than some of his most sublime efforts. It was simply impossible to look away,” the former India coach opined.

“His two sixes to end the over against Rauf were the turning point. For the first, he leaned back and muscled the delivery straight down the ground from a back-of-a-length slower ball. For the next, he shifted his weight to the off side to flick another reasonable delivery over short fine leg. It was brave and it was audacious, and it swung the game,” Greg Chappell argued.

“Pakistan ran into the perfect storm. Kohli only had to bat for an hour or so and his team was in need. Conditions were ideal. It is likely the best T20 innings of his career, and it may also be one of the most satisfying in any format. He looked completely at home. He was in his element,” the Australian Test stalwart remarked.

“Kohli is the most complete Indian batsman of my time. Only the greatest of champions has the courage and the intelligence to transport their imagination beyond the mortal plane. Kohli has that. Perhaps only Tiger Pataudi has come close to transcending a similar stratosphere,” he declared.