'Childish and foolish' - Mohammad Kaif takes sly dig at doubters of Virat Kohli

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India batter Mohammad Kaifhas taken a clear swipe at the critics targeting star cricketer Virat Kohli, calling some talks surrounding the 37-year-old “childish and foolish”. Kaif’s sly dig has come following some bizarre remarks aimed at Kohli’s decision to keep playing ODI cricket after a sudden retirement from Test cricket. 

Without naming or quoting anyone, Kaif made his opinion clear on his YouTube channel. While defending his ex-RCB teammate, the cricketer-turned-commentator

claimed that it is very unfair to ignore the ace batter's achievements in Test cricket so easily while criticizing him for his decision to play only ODIs.

“He (Virat Kohli) scored around 9,000 [9230] runs in Test cricket. It is not as if he has not proven himself in difficult conditions. He hit around 30 Test centuries to his name. Not many players will ever get close to that. So these are childish and foolish arguments saying that Virat Kohli chose an easy format,” said Kaif via a video on his YouTube channel.

The Uttar Pradesh-born further explained how batting is not as easy as it sometimes seems, and cricket is not an easy sport to play by any margin. Underlining the significance of building an innings with the bat, Kaif believes that batters are always facing the threat of ending it all, while mistiming or failing to judge a single delivery.

“There is no easy cricket at all. Even when someone goes to play a club match, that match is not easy. When runs do not come, a player completely loses form, no matter how big a name he is. Cricket is not an easy game, especially batting. People say bowling is very fast and demanding, but batting is the most demanding. Because it is just one ball. On a single ball, your entire game can be destroyed. On one ball, you can be out. Whether you are on zero or on a hundred, one ball can send you back. There is no tougher job than this,” he added.

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None of the modern-day greats come close to Kohli, believes Kaif

Furthermore, the former cricketer pointed out howKohli is perhaps the only cricketer to ace all three formats of the game, and how no other player has been able to achieve this feat, including some modern greats like England's Joe Root. 

“People say it is an easy format. Brother, legends are still playing today. Name any great player across formats who is comparable to Virat Kohli as an all-format player. You tell me. People mention Joe Root, but he does not even play ODIs regularly and does not have such a strong record there. Name anyone you want. Take the name of any great player. They do not even come close to Virat Kohli. So there is no such thing as an easy format,” Kaif concluded. 

Very recently, former India cricketer and renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had posted a video on his official Instagram account, wherein he had criticized the New Delhi-born's decision to keep playing the ODI format, which according to the Mumbai-born is the easiest format to play. Meanwhile, the modern-day great continued his splendid form with the bat. He scored 93 against New Zealand in the first ODI, helping India chase down the target of 301. He was also named Player of the Match.