'Rohit, Kohli ko apna dost samjho': India fans engage in fun banter with Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi ahead of marquee clash

New York, June 9

The Indian fans have sent a fun message to Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi ahead of the high-voltage clash between both sides in the ongoing T20 World Cup in New York on Sunday.

Nerves are a constant factor when two of the oldest cricket rivals appear on the same field. Emotions run high, adrenalin rush kicks in, and tension starts to escalate through the roof are some of the things that are easily visible during the India-Pakistan clash.

Fans usually spend time debating about the better side and better players. But in a video that recently went viral on social media, India fans had a fun banter with Pakistan ace Shaheen.

They joked that Shaheen should consider India’s stalwart duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as his friends.

“Rohit ko aur Virat ko apne acche dost samjho,” a fan was heard saying.

In the past, Shaheen has caused trouble for India batters with his left-arm inswinging deliveries. A fan wanted Shaheen to bowl below his standards and jokingly said, “Kal acchi bowling nahi karni hai.”

India and Pakistan will step into New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium to add a new chapter to their historic rivalry.

In the previous edition of the tournament, India needed magic from Kohli’s bat to seal a thrilling win at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2022.

This time Pakistan will look to take revenge for their slump and clinch their first win of the tournament.

India T20 WC squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan T20 WC squad: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.