Babar Azam is a very nice guy and there is always respect among us: Virat Kohli

Former India captain Virat Kohli lauded Pakistan captain Babar Azam after the arch-rivals played out a thriller in the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE. Pakistan pulled one back on India to come on level terms after losing a group stage encounter. They chased down 182 runs with one ball to spare even as Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Rizwan were the heroes for the Men in Green.

As for Virat Kohli, when asked about Babar in the post-match press conference, opened up about the mutual respect between them. He also stated that the latter is always keen to learn and isn't surprised about the 27-year-old being one of the best players across all formats at the moment.

"Babar is a very nice guy. I have always had good conversations with him. Kinship, I am not sure of but there is respect, there is always respect. He was always keen to learn. He spoke to me after our game in the 2019 World Cup. I have always said he is keen to learn and there’s no surprise that he is playing like this in all formats of the game. He is obviously a very talented player," Kohli said.

Pakistan players are all friendly, says Kohli

The action on the field when India and Pakistan might be intense all the time, but Virat Kohli revealed that the players from both sides are very friendly off the field. He further added that it is always nice to meet Babar Azam and his men when the two teams face-off in multi-tournament or ICC events. Notably, a video of Indian players meeting the injued Shaheen Afridi had gone viral just before the Asia Cup with the latter also praying for Kohlis form to return.

"It’s always nice meeting him and also the other guys (From Pakistan). They are all very friendly, get along nicely with all of us. There is mutual respect between both the teams. I have realised that, it was there to be seen last year as well. We are very competitive on the field but very respectful," added Kohli.