Shahid Afridi has invited former India captain Virat Kohli to play in Pakistan, with the Champions Trophy 2025 slated to take place in February. The former Pakistan captain said that the hospitality in his nation is great and Kohli has a lot of fans there.
The former Pakistan captain noted the contributions made by Kohli in the T20s and said that it was too early for him to call time on his career following Team India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024.
“If Virat Kohli comes to Pakistan, he’ll forget the hospitality of India. Virat has lots of fans in Pakistan, we’re eager to see Virat play in Pakistan. He is also my favourite player.” Afridi told News24 in an interview.
“I think Virat Kohli should not have retired from T20 because he made the format beautiful. He is in form, he is fit. The new players would have got support due to him. Because you can’t bring all the new players in together,” the former Pakistan captain added.
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Shahid Afridi said, “Virat has lots of fans in Pakistan, we’re eager to see Virat play in Pakistan”. pic.twitter.com/hWoDOSrMXr
— Virat Kohli Fan Club (@Trend_VKohli) July 11, 2024
However, as per recent developments, reports suggested that the BCCI has denied sending Team India to Pakistan for the proposed Champions Trophy 2025 clash in Lahore. It is understood that the BCCI will discuss with the ICC to shift its matches to Sri Lanka or Dubai.
Team India has not visited Pakistan since 2008 due to the government implications after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The last time Pakistan toured India for a bilateral series was in 2012-13. Since then, the arch-rivals have competed against each other only in the ICC events and Asia Cup.
