Photo Credit: Instagram Photos of @virat.kohli and @safridiofficial
Former captain Shahid Afridi believes that Virat Kohli will forget the love and affection he receives in India if he visits Pakistan, following reports of India’s decision to refrain from traveling to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy. Afridi emphasized that Kohli has a significant fan base and receives immense admiration in Pakistan.
He also urged the Indian team to consider traveling to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, setting aside the challenging political relations between the two countries.
Afridi told News24 Sports’ YouTube channel, “I welcome the Indian team (in Pakistan) and they should come. We’ve always received huge respect and love in our tours of India. In the same way, the Indian team also received love and respect during their tour in 2005. Cricket tours should be kept aside from politics. There is no big politics than India and Pakistan playing against each other in their countries. “
He further added, “Virat will forget the love he has received in India when he would play in Pakistan. He has a huge craze in Pakistan and our people like him very much. In fact, he is my favorite player. He has his own class and he shouldn’t have retired from T20Is as because of him T20I looked beautiful.”
When asked about the next big star in Indian cricket, akin to legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Afridi mentioned that Shubman Gill has the potential to achieve similar success in international cricket.
Afridi also praised the Indian Premier League (IPL), stating, “IPL has created so much talent pool for India that they can make two teams.”
Commenting on the inconsistency within Pakistan cricket administration, Afridi pointed out, “Chairman should at least get three years so that Pakistan captain can remain for 2-3 years at his post. With the change of chairman, other things should not be affected. If we work on the basis of merit, the results will come. If the right person takes the right job, then the result will come automatically.”
