Mohammed Shami: Slams Virat Kohli’s Critics, Refers to Ravi Shastri’s remarks about judging players based on their centuries

Muhammad Shami slammed people who talk about former India captain Virat Kohli’s 71st hundred, saying it is more of an obsession than Kohli’s and that people shouldn’t judge players based on the number of centuries they have scored.
Shami told India.com exclusively, “I don’t care if Kohli hasn’t scored a century. The number of centuries he scores does not define his status. It is not that he has not scored runs. He has scored fifties consistently in the recent past and there is no reason why we should even think like that. A fifty or a sixty is also a score and as long as it is helping the team, there is no reason to complain.”
Under Kohli’s leadership, he has become one of India’s most successful bowlers not only in overseas but also at home. Shami said that Kohli’s leadership comes from the energy he brings to the park that rubs off on the rest of the team.
“Kohli’s energy is the best thing and that rubs on to the rest of the team. He is a bowler’s captain and always gave us the freedom to express ourselves. He would always take our opinion and ask for options,” he reflected.

“We have spent so much time together and there are so many memorable moments. It will always remain with me and it is difficult to pick or choose any one such moment,” he replied when asked to recall his favorite moment with Kohli.

Earlier, former India coach Ravi Shastri said that winning a World Cup isn’t the only criteria to judge a player. He took the example of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, noting that both men had never won a World Cup, and it doesn’t make them bad players. According to Shastri, even the great Sachin Tendulkar won one World Cup after six attempts, so it isn’t fair to judge Kohli in the same light.