LAHORE – India skipper Virat Kohli has picked Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Irfan as the bowlers he would not want to face and prefer to be on the non-striker’s end.

Talking to Gaurav Kapur in program Breakfast with Champions, Kohli said, “I’ve never faced Shoaib Akhtar, but I’ve seen him in a game in Dambulla against Pakistan. I got out, I couldn’t face him. But I saw him bowl, and he looked even at the later stages of his career very lethal.”

“At that time I felt batsmen would not have wanted to face him when he was at his peak,” added Kohli.

The India captain also mentioned Mohammad Irfan, the tall guy. “Before the world cup match, our batting coach Sanjay Bangar bowled while standing on a one-foot-high stool to prepare for this guy,” said Kohli.

“The ball used to go from near the face,” continued Virat, “Yuvraj Singh and I were batting in Bangalore (Bengaluru) against him in a T20 match. I tried to pull him but couldn’t due to the bounce. Yuvraj asked me to cut him with the pace, I tried that but failed again. Yuvraj then asked me to come to the non-striker’s end.”