Srinagar: In another heart warming incident ahead of the start of the Asia Cup that fans are loving, Team India members had a beautiful interaction with Pakistan pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi who is injured.
Afridi is forced to miss the tournament due to a knee injury. The left-arm pacer suffered a knee injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka last year, and even as he continued to travel with the Pakistan side throughout their games to stay in close contact with the team physio.
CLICK here to Watch Shaheen Afridi with Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant & others
On Thursday night, the official Twitter account of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared a heartwarming video of Shaheen Afridi meeting India cricketers including Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul.
While all Team India stars could be heard asking Afridi about his injury status but the pacer’s conversation with Pant has won the fans’ hearts across both countries.
As Pant came to meet Afridi, the Pakistan pacer hilariously said, “Yaar main soch raha hu aapki tarah bas batting shuru kar du, ek haath se chhakke lagaau (I’m thinking of becoming a batter like you, start hitting sixes with a single hand).
Pant, then, hilariousy replied, ‘fast bowler ho toh effort lagaana padega sir! Compulsory hai (If you’re a fast bowler, you have to put in efforts. It’s compulsory). The Indian wicketkeeper then asked Afridi on how long would it take for him to recover, to which the Pakistan pacer replied, “5 weeks.”
Earlier, Virat Kohli had also met Pakistan captain Babar Azam as well as the side’s batting coach and cricketing great Mohammad Yousuf ahead of India’s first training session in the UAE.
CLICK here to Watch Shaheen Afridi with Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant & others
The game between India and Pakistan will be the first in men’s cricket since their clash in the T20 World Cup last year, where Babar’s side had cruised to a 10-wicket win.