Shahid Afridi reacts to Virat Kohli's viral audio commitment of going to Pakistan

Pakistan's legendary former All-rounder Shahid Afridi has sent a welcome message to Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli to visit the country to play cricket.

A couple of years ago, Virat Kohli had expressed his desire to visit Pakistan, sometime in the future but his wish has not been fulfilled yet. Kohli and the Indian team do have the opportunity to go to their arch-rivals' soil next year when Land of Purity hosts the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in February.

However, that seems like a distant thought and something very difficult to happen as the BCCI and the Indian government will not allow the team to go there. Neither the BCCI welcomes Pakistan to India for a series nor will they visit the nation to play. The only time we see an Indo-Pak cricket match is when an ICC or ACC event is ongoing, that too, either in India or in a neutral venue.

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What did Shahid Afridi say?

While speaking to Cricket Pakistan in an exclusive interview, Shahid Afridi was told about the comments that Virat Kohli had made about visiting the nation. The former India captain, back in 2022, had a video call chat with a famous Pakistani Mountaineer named Shehroze Kashif which had also gone viral after the conversation was revealed.

Therein, Virat Kohli had asked Kashif to extend his regards to the latter's family and friends. The right-hand batter had then said that he hopes to visit Pakistan very soon to play cricket since things have become normal and people have started to go there. "Give my regards to your family and all your friends. Hopefully, we visit Pakistan soon; everyone's started visiting now." - Kohli said.

When Kohli's comments were brought in front of Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistan captain was delighted. The 2009 T20 World Cup winner admitted that he knew Virat Kohli would make such a statement, at least that's what he expected from the Indian batter.

Shahid Afridi then made it clear that the 36-year-old is more than welcome to Pakistan for their premier competition Pakistan Super League or with team India. "I expected such a statement from Virat. I welcome Virat, whether he comes to the PSL or with the Indian team." - Afridi said via Cricket Pakistan.

Last year in September, Virat Kohli and the Indian team had the chance to visit Pakistan for the 50-over Asia Cup. However, the BCCI's refusal to send the team saw the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) schedule the tournament by a Hybrid model. As a result, the Men in Blue had played all their matches in Sri Lanka, including the finale.

New York to witness the latest Indo-Pak clash

Meanwhile, we are just a few weeks away from seeing another chapter added to the famous India-Pakistan cricketing rivalry. This time, the iconic city of New York will play host to the high-octane clash which will take place during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Green and Men in Blue lock horns on June 9th.