"Virat Kohli is going to be up there with the very best the game has ever seen" : Waqar Younis

[Abdullah719]

"Virat Kohli is going to be up there with the very best the game has ever seen" : Waqar Younis

How good is Virat Kohli? That's the question this reporter asked Waqar Younis - one of the greatest fast bowlers the game has ever seen - during the Asia Cup final between India and Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Of course, Waqar was effusive in his praise for the Indian batting superstar.

Who could blame the Pakistan legend?

Kohli's ruthless streak with the bat has already earned him a place in the pantheon of modern greats.

But to get Waqar in top form, it was important to ask something personal. How would Waqar have bowled against India's master batsman?

The former Pakistan captain chuckled before opening up on the dream battle, giving clues to the current crop of international bowlers when they bowl at Kohli.

"Well, everyone's got a weakness and he has been found at times outside the off stump because he likes to drive early on," Waqar said.

It's after all that weakness outside off stump that famously troubled Kohli in the 2014 Test series in England.

Kohli worked so hard on that aspect of his game that he returned with 593 runs and two hundreds from the recent England Test series.

"I think as a bowler you have got to be sensible when you are bowling at him. You can't really challenge him. You have to stick to your plans I guess," Waqar said.

"And the best plan is if you are an outswing bowler, which I was in my days as a fast bowler in international cricket, I will probably bowl to him outside the off stump and look to take the ball away from him with a bit of short of a length and ask him to drive.""Probably that's the only hope I have got but once he gets settled, the conditions don't really matter because he is such a good player."

Waqar says Kohli is going to become one of the greatest players in cricket.

"He is a fine player, he is another one who is going to be a great like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. I mean he is going to be up there with the very best the game has ever seen," Waqar concluded.

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/waqar-reveals-how-he-would-have-tackled-kohli

 

[PakLFC]

Of course he is. Even a kid knows that.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Waqar is 5 years to late lol. Kohli is already an ATG. He has achieved more in tests than all English batting greats pre-70s, and more in ODIs than entire English team put together in their history.

We should focus on somebody new now.

 

[Cric1234]

A very good analysis by Waqar Younis.

 

[Hitman]

He is already up there. He'll be among the most elite category of batsmen by the time he finishes.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

He will be in the league of sachin, richards by the time he retires.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

As usual poor analysis and stating the obvious by Waqar.

This boy Kohli was meant for greatness after his innings vs SL in Australia. No slogs just pure cricketing shots especially those flicks against Malinga.

 

[Hasan123]

Agree. He's destined for greatness.

 

[cricketfanfirst]

Virat is the best batsman of his generation. And will be in top 5 of all time when he retires. Pleasing to the eye and he paces his innings so beautifully. Pure cricketing strokes at such high SR is very rare and also one of the most mentally tough players I have seen. The only wish I have from him is to win a test series for us in Australia, SA before he retires. And, also world cup for us. He has it in him to do all this, but for that he has to make rapid strides in improving his captaincy and field a correct team based on conditions. We lost few test matches recently due to his tactical mistakes. But, I'm sure he will improve, he has always been a learner and that is a great quality in him.