New Delhi: Former Pakistan batter Kamran Akmal has urged Team India stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to visit his country once before retiring from cricket. Kohli and Rohit have been the strongest pillars of Indian batting for several years now and have performed in all sorts of conditions across the globe. However, the two are yet to play together in Pakistan.
Kohli and Rohit have never been to Pakistan with the Indian team due to the strained political relations between the two countries. India’s last tour of Pakistan was in 2006 while Pakistan last visited in 2013. The two countries have since not played any bilateral cricket against each other and continue to meet only in major ICC events or the Asia Cup.
The Indian government has refrained from sending the Indian team to Pakistan citing security reasons amid political tensions between the two countries. Pakistan were scheduled to host the Asia Cup last year but the tournament was conducted in a hybrid model with India playing all their matches, including the final in Sri Lanka.
However, Akmal believes Kohli and Rohit who are two of the best players of the current generation should at least visit Pakistan once to experience the love of Pakistani fans, which he feels will be unmatched.
“Virat and Rohit should visit Pakistan before they retire. These two are stars of world cricket, traveling across the globe to play the game. Every single fan loves them. They have a massive fan base due to their batting and match-winning performances,” Akmal was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
“The fan following, they will experience in Pakistan will surpass anything they’ve seen elsewhere,” he added.
Row over Champions Trophy 2025
Akmal comments have come at a time when there is an ongoing row between the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the Champions Trophy 2025. Pakistan are the official host of the tournament, however, BCCI is yet to confirm if they will send the Indian team to Pakistan for the premier ICC event. As per reports, it’s highly unlikely that India will travel to Pakistan for the competition.
Kohli did visit Pakistan when he was part of the Indian U-19 team. However, the star batter, who enjoys massive popularity across the border, has never gotten a chance to play in Pakistan with the senior national team.
“Virat is a role model for many around the world, Rohit is the World Cup-winning captain, and Bumrah is currently the best pacer in the world. When players like Virat, Rohit and Bumrah visit Pakistan, it will evoke unique feelings in every fan. Virat has been to Pakistan during his under-19 days, but he wasn’t as popular then,” said Akmal as he maid a heartfelt plea to the Team India stars to visit Pakistan.
The Champions Troohy 2025 is scheduled to be staged in February next year and it remains to be seen if BCCI will get the nod from the Indian government to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament. In case BCCI refuse, the tournament might be played in a hybrid model like the Asia Cup last year and the ICC has reportedly also allocated extra budget to PCB for the same.
A former Pakistan star has urged Indian superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to at least visit Pakistan once before they retire from cricket to experience the love from the fans. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
