Former Pakistan gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has urged Virat Kohli to retire from T20I cricket to focus his energy more on the other two formats of the game. Kohli relinquished his captaincy duties from the T20 format after the conclusion of the previous edition of the T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli played one of the best knocks of his T20I career when he scored an unbeaten knock of 82 runs off just 53 balls against arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic MCG on Sunday. India had their backs against the wall at 31-4 but Kohli led India’s charge as the Men in Blue came storming back into the contest.

Kohli scored 71 runs off the last 33 balls he faced as he changed gears like a superfast car. The talisman was on a mission and he was able to get India over the line in an emphatic fashion.

“According to me, he played the greatest innings of his life against Pakistan. He played like this because he had the self-belief that he will do it.

“He is back with a bang. I want him to retire from T20I because I don’t want that he puts his entire energy into T20I cricket. With similar commitment like today, he can score three centuries in ODIs,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.

On the other hand, the last couple of years has been challenging for Virat Kohli as he wasn’t at his usual best. However, Kohli has made a roaring comeback to form. The linchpin scored 276 runs in the Asia Cup and also got runs against Australia and South Africa in the bilateral series.

“He was down and out for 3 years, he didn’t score runs, he was stripped of his captaincy and a lot of people said a lot of things to him.

“People even dragged his family into it but he kept training and put in the graft and just a day before Diwali, he played a firecracker on an innings. He decided that this place and this stage is perfect for his comeback.

“The king is back and he is back with a bang and I am really happy for him. He is a great cricketer,” the Pakistan pacer added.

India will take on the Netherlands on Thursday at the SCG.