Shahid Afridi gives a peek into his relationship with Virat Kohli

India and Pakistan matches have always been a classic encounter for a neutral fan. The passion and the vibe that the match has is next to none, with both sets of fans and the players at their aggressive best. Cross-border tensions in the recent times have restricted ties between the two countries.

The cross-border tension has had its effect on the bilateral ties between the two countries. The Champions Trophy 2016 final was the last match that these two teams played. However, Shahid Afridi has firmly said that the political tensions will not have an effect on his relationship with Team India‘s skipper Virat Kohli. Further, he commended Virat’s on-field antics saying that it has to go down to his passion for the game.

What did Afridi say about Kohli

“He (Kohli) has always shown a lot of respect and has even gone out of his way to present a signed jersey for my foundation (Shahid Afridi Foundation),” Afridi was quoted as saying by Republic TV.

His foundation focuses on providing clean and safe drinking water for the economically weaker sections of the society. Further, he talked about his cordial relationship with the Indian skipper, who he terms as a fantastic person.

“There is a lot of warmth and fellow-feeling whenever I have spoken to Virat. It’s not that we get a chance to speak a lot but from time to time, he would drop in a message and I would do the same. I congratulated him recently when I came to know he was getting married,” said an excited Afridi.

Media’s constant comparison

The former Pakistani all-rounder also criticised the media for putting a lot of pressure on the current Men in Green skipper Sarfraz Ahmed when they asked him to compare Sarfraz to Virat.

“As long as you are winning, everything is fine and you lose a game and all hell breaks loose. That is grossly unfair. We should not overlook someone’s past achievements just because he is going through a bad patch,” said an angry and expressive Afridi as he concluded.