Srinagar: Former Pakistan batter Mohammad Hafeez has said that Virat Kohli batted selfishly during his 49th ODI century against South Africa in Kolkata during ongoing World Cup 2023.
“I saw a sense of selfishness in Virat Kohli’s batting and this happened for the third time in this World Cup. In the 49th over, you’re thinking of your milestone and not winning the game,” Hafeez said while talking on a sports show.
“I am not saying Virat didn’t play well. He batted beautifully till he reached 97. The last three singles he took, I am talking about the intent. He was looking for singles instead of hitting boundaries.”
“Yes [it is] absolutely fine that the milestone is in your mind, but what is your first goal? You are representing your country to win games, if he had tried to hit a four or six on those three balls after scoring 97 runs and had failed, I am okay with that. But the intent in the 49th over was to take singles [to complete your century].
“This is where I am standing, maybe people praised him, I am his big fan too, but this act [of taking singles in the last overs], to me was a selfish approach,” he added.
Kohli equalled the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring most centuries in 50-over cricket but he did it in much less innings (277) than The Little Master (452).
