Virat Kohli’s form heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy in the UAE and Pakistan has raised many questions. The former India captain has struggled with the bat, failing to score significant runs in home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. His performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia, in particular, was underwhelming, with Kohli’s average for the series standing at just 24.52, one of his poorest in red-ball cricket. Expectations were high after his century in the Perth Test, but his overall performance in the five-match series was far from satisfactory.
Before the Test season, Kohli‘s form in the ODI series against Sri Lanka was also disappointing, which has led many experts to suggest ways the right-hander could regain his best form. Adding to this conversation, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar made a cheeky comment about Kohli’s struggles, suggesting that telling the batsman about a match against Pakistan would “wake him up.” Akhtar pointed to Kohli’s stellar record against Pakistan, recalling his brilliant innings in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne.
“If you want Virat Kohli to wake up, just tell him that there’s a match against Pakistan and he will wake up,” Akhtar told Sports Tak.
“Recall the innings he played in Melbourne during the 2022 T20 World Cup.” He also expressed hope that Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam would find form as well.
Akhtar also discussed potential picks for both India and Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy. He mentioned that Pakistan’s Saim Ayub, who is currently dealing with an injury, may struggle to make the cut. Akhtar explained, “Saim Ayub is injured, and I’m unsure if he’ll make the squad. Saim and Fakhar (Zaman) could’ve formed a destructive opening pair for Pakistan. I was really looking forward to seeing that.”
Akhtar also praised India’s rising star, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is expected to be the backup opener for India in the tournament. “He’s (Jaiswal) a very talented and committed player. Scored runs in testing conditions in Australia. Hats off to him. What a talent. I’m really looking forward to seeing him as an opener.”