If Virat Kohli comes to Pakistan, he’ll forget India’s hospitality, says Afridi amid Champions Trophy row

sanjeev

khelja|12-07-2024

news broke out that the BCCI has asked ICC to shift India's games to Dubai or Sri Lanka as the national side will not travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, to be held early next year.
Pakistan is set to host the ICC event, which marks its return after eight years in early February. However, BCCI has reportedly asked the governing body to shift India's games elsewhere amid the strained political relations between the two Asian countries. Now, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has made a big claim. He has stated that India should travel to Pakistan as his countrymen want to see Virat Kohli play. Further, he stated that Kohli would forget India's hospitality if he arrived in Pakistan. Afridi, who is taking part in the ongoing World Championship of Legends T20 tournament in the UK, told News 24, "I will welcome Team India. Even when Pakistan used to tour, we received a lot of respect and love from India, and when India came in 2005-06, all their players enjoyed. There is no better advent of peace than India and Pakistan going to each other's country and playing cricket. If Virat Kohli comes to Pakistan, he'll forget the love and hospitality of India. He has his own class."  Further, Afridi also opined on Kohli's T20I retirement. In this regard, he opined, "He shouldn't have quit T20Is because the format looked beautiful with him in it. Why can't he play? He is fit; he is in form." He added, "More than anything else, with him around the new guys would have found a lot more success. You cannot bring all youngsters together; you need a combination of seniors and juniors. What Virat can teach them, I don't think anyone else can." Talking about the Champions Trophy row, it seems highly unlikely that India will play any of their games in Pakistan. The last bilateral series between the two nations took place in 2012-13 whereas India have not travelled to Pakistan since 2008. This has happened due to the poor political relations of the two countries since over a decade.