Taliban leader Anas Haqqani hails Virat Kohli's impact, says 'wish he plays till 50'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Taliban leader Anas Haqqani hails Virat Kohli's impact, says 'wish he plays till 50'")
Taliban leader Anas Haqqani hails Virat Kohli's impact, says 'wish he plays till 50' Photograph: (AFP)
In May, Virat Kohli’s unexpected retirement from Test cricket surprised fans and meant he would not join India’s Test set-up in England, where Shubman Gill led the side.
Virat Kohli's unique popularity has even drawn the attention of Taliban leader Anas Haqqani, who praised the legendary cricketer's enduring appeal. In a recent podcast, Haqqani highlighted Kohli's distinctive charm and suggested he continue playing until age 50. Although Kohli is absent from the Indian squad for the Asia Cup and has retired from Tests and T20Is, his influence remains strong.
Taliban leader in awe of Virat
“Rohit's retirement from Tests was justified. I don't know the cause behind Kohli's retirement. Very few people across the world are that unique. My wish is that he tries to play till he is 50,” Taliban leader Anas Haqqani said while speaking to Shubhankar Mishra.
"Maybe he was frustrated by the media in India. He still had time. You can see Joe Root chasing Sachin Tendulkar's tally of Test runs," he added.
In May, Kohli’s unexpected retirement from Test cricket surprised fans and meant he would not join India’s Test set-up in England, where Shubman Gill led the side.
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Interestingly, despite Afghanistan gaining Test-playing nation’s credentials, Virat never managed to face them. Like Afghanistan, Virat never faced Pakistan in Tests, making it an impressive trivia. Scoring 9230 runs in 210 innings, not a single run was scored against Pakistan by Virat during his red-ball career. This comes after bilateral series between India and Pakistan have been on hold for a long time. While the two nations met in a bilateral ODI series in 2013, the two have not played a Test series since December 2007.
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As things stand, Virat is not part of the Asia Cup squad as well having announced his T20I retirement after the T20 World Cup in 2024. He will only feature for India in the ODI format, with a few suggesting the upcoming ODI series in Australia could be his last for the national side.
