Parthiv Patel and Tamim Iqbal feel that Indian star batter Virat Kohli faces more pressure than fab four members Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson in the longest format of the game.
The Fab Four has been considered as the great of the modern generation. Compared to the three, Kohli had been struggling in tests as he scored just 2 fifties and 2 hundred since 2023.
Pakistan feels that the pressure of expectation is huge for Kohli because of the standard he has set for himself.
“I don’t think he’s feeling that kind of pressure. And as you rightly mentioned that, I don’t think Smith or Joe Root or Williamson can even think of the type of pressure he must be feeling.”
“The pressure of expectation, that is huge. He has set his standard so high that even if he scores 60 or 70, that comes across as a failure. Because every time he walks in, we expect him to score 100. We expect him to play with that kind of intensity, which he has always been playing,” said Parthiv.
Parthiv said that the hunger to perform will remain in Kohli as long as he is playing tests.
“But you have to understand that he is also getting older but that zeal to play Test cricket and to do well, does not die, and it will never die as long as Virat Kohli is playing Test cricket.”
“But yeah, I think I don’t think he would be feeling that kind of pressure to perform. But the expectation of us is always high because of the standard which he has set,” said Parthiv.
Meanwhile, Tamim has pointed out to white-ball cricket records of the Fab 4 and claimed that Kohli had won more games for his side single-handedly compared to Smith, Root and Williamson.
“And also, I think yes in Test match cricket, the Fab 4 that we are talking about have done wonders. Because in Test match cricket, basically as a batter, you can’t win a game single-handedly. There are two innings and everything.”
“But we also call them Fab 4 in white-ball cricket and hands down, in what Kohli has done for India, amount of games that he has won single-handedly, I’m pretty sure none of the other three has won that many of the games.”
“And as you mentioned because of the amount of pressure that he goes through, I think those three combined do not have the similar pressure,” said Tamim.
India is currently playing in the second test match against Bangladesh and Virat Kohli will be looking to bounce back into form during the Kanpur test.
