There is growing speculation that India will not participate in the 2025 Champions Trophy which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan. This has led to former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi urging the Indian team and Virat Kohli to come to Pakistan for the tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not officially announced its decision yet, but they are expected to ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the event in a different format, possibly with matches played in multiple locations. India has not played any cricket matches in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup due to strained relations between the two countries following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The last time India played a bilateral series in Pakistan was in 2006.
I welcome Indian Team to Pakistan: Shahid Afridi
Afridi mentioned that both Indian and Pakistani cricket teams have received immense love from each other's fans in the past and urged that politics should be kept separate from sports. He also made a significant remark, stating that Virat Kohli has a large fan following in Pakistan.
"I welcome the Indian team to Pakistan. We have gotten a lot of respect in India when Pakistan has toured India. The Pakistan team also got a lot of love in India when we toured in 2005. Sports should be kept away from politics. There is nothing better than politics than both teams playing cricket against each other. Indians coming in to Pakistan, Pakistanis going to India--what can be more beautiful than that," said Afridi to News24 Sports.
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"Virat Kohli will forget the love he has for India when he comes to Pakistan. There is a lot of craze in Pakistan. People like him a lot in Pakistan. He is my favourite player. He should not have retired from T20Is," Afridi further added.
Despite a successful record in ODIs and T20Is, Virat Kohli has never faced Pakistan in a Test match since his debut in August 2008. The most recent bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in India during 2012-13, consisting of two T20Is and three ODIs.
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