Lobbies against Kohli ? Shoaib Akhtar reveals what made Kohli step down as India captain

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has made a bold claim about Virat Kohli's captaincy. 'The Rawalpindi Express' suggested there are lobbies against Virat Kohli which is why he was forced to step down as India captain.

Former captain, Virat Kohli, stepped down as Test captain at the end of the Test series against South Africa, but controversies have surrounded him ever since. The captaincy transition has not been smooth for Virat or the BCCI. At first, Virat quit the T20 captaincy to manage his workload. Then, Rohit Sharma was named as the ODI captain against South Africa. And finally, Virat stepped down as the Test captain.

In a conversation with India Today, Shoaib Akhtar said, “It was a tight scenario for Virat. I was in Dubai and I was aware that if he wouldn’t have won the T20 World Cup, it would have become a big problem for him and it did happen. There are lobbies against him and there are people against him and that is the reason why he stepped down."

The Pakistani quick added that Virat should look to enjoy the game, adding that anybody who enjoys 'star status' is sure to face problems.

“Now that he is off the hook, he just has to make sure that he enjoys his cricket. He is great and he should know that, and he just has to enhance his value. He should know that he can’t be imprisoned for his own bitterness. Virat should forget and forgive people," Akhtar added.

Speaking of his centuries, Akhtar said that Kohli is a great batter and the centuries will start coming sooner or later.