ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli's fan following will increase if he visits Pakistan, claims Younis Khan

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan feels that Virat Kohli's fan following will increase if he visits Pakistan for next year's Champions Trophy. Younis urged the Indian cricket team to come to Pakistan for the marquee ICC tournament next year.

Virat Kohli is a well-known cricketer not only in India but globally as well. Kohli has a huge fan following in Pakistan as well. But unfortunately, the star cricketer is yet to play any cricket series on Pakistani soil due to the strained political relations between the two nations.

The Champions Trophy 2025 will be hosted by Pakistan and if India agrees to travel to the country, Kohli will play his first ever series in the country. However, the chances of that happening do not seem bright at the moment due to India's reluctance to send their team.

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Virat Kohli's fan following will increase if he comes to Pakistan - Younis Khan

While speaking to the reporters, Younis Khan claimed that his fan following increased when he visited India during his playing days. He also added that visiting India helped him handle the pressure in a better way.

Similarly, the legendary Pakistan batter wants Indian stars like Virat Kohli to visit Pakistan. He feels that it will be great for the people in Pakistan if Kohli performs in front of them.

"When we went to India, our fan following increased, our skills grew, and we were able to handle the pressure in a better way. So, India must come here. Pakistanis want Indian stars to come here," Younis said.

"The fan following of players like Virat Kohli will also increase if they come to Pakistan. If they perform in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, it will be great," he added.

Virat Pakistan Ayain.. Fan Following zyada hojai gi.. Younus Khan (Former Captain Pakistan) #Pakistan #India #ViratKohli𓃵 #cricket pic.twitter.com/88rzipplbl

— Ali Hasan 🏅 (@AaliHasan10) October 5, 2024

Winner of three major ICC trophies

Virat Kohli is easily the most followed cricketer in the world and one of the topmost athletes in the world in terms of fan following. The 35-year-old has achieved numerous achievements during his career so far and is still not finished.

Recently, he was a part of India's T20 World Cup 2024 win in which he was the Player of the Match in the final. With this trophy, he has now won three major ICC titles, ICC ODI World Cup (2023), ICC Champions Trophy (2013), and ICC T20 World Cup (2024).

Virat Kohli's record fan following on social media

In terms of fan following, Virat Kohli is the most-followed cricketer on Instagram with 270 million followers. He also has the highest Instagram following among Indians and the 16th overall. Kohli has also the most number of followers on X (formerly Twitter) with 65.3 million followers.

Meanwhile, India's travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is still not confirmed. While the other participating countries have confirmed their travel, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) claims that they will require approval from the government of India to send their cricket team to Pakistan.