Virat Kohli speaks candidly about encounters with Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar and Irfan

Fast bowlers have always been a nightmare for Indian batsmen which can be established through the fact that the world number one batsman Virat Kohli could not save his scalp in his first three encounters with Pakistani pacer Junaid Khan and he has ardently admired Muhammed Amir’s magical spell he has faced.

Amongst a volley of fast bowlers produced by Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar, who was a dreadful sight even for “Indian idol” Sachin Tendulkar, was known for his deadly bouncers and toe-crushing yorkers.

Kohli in an interview with local media said though he had never faced Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar in his career but he felt that if he had ever done so he would have prefered to stay at non-striker’s end.

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“Though I never faced Shoaib Akhtar, but I saw him in a game in Dambulla and he looked, even at later stages of his career, very lethal,” he said.

He said watching him bowl he thought when Shoaib would have bowled at peak of his career, batsmen would have (for sure) liked to stay at non-striker’s end.

Shoaib Akhtar is the first bowler to break the speed barrier of 100 miles/hour.

The fastest bowler of all time, Shoaib Akhtar holds an unwanted record of retired hurting most number of batsmen in the world, which is 19.

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Shoaib Akhtar has scared the best in the business with his sheer pace and aggression during his playing days. Be it Brian Lara, Saurav Ganguly or Gary Kirsten, they have all been under the wrath of the vicious pacer.

Virat Kohli has also said that the other bowler he dreaded the most was Pakistan’s Mohammed Irfan who is 7 feet and one inch tall. He said could not properly pick his bowl because it bounced high.