The intense rivalry between India and Pakistan has returned to the international fore when the two teams take on each other in their opening game of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday, August 28. The last time that these two sides met was in the 2021 T20 World Cup, and Pakistan, led by skipper Babar Azam and pacer Shaheen Afridi, demolished the Indian batters to secure a massive 10-wicket victory over their rivals.
Ahead of the mega clash, Aaj Tak along with Pakistan's Sama TV caught up with former India spinner Harbhajan Singh in Dubai, and former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi in Pakistan. The duo shared their thoughts on the form of Virat Kohli, among other things, and while they had their fair share of disagreements, they both accepted that Kohli was too good a player to stay down and out for too long.
See the full interview here:
"Playing for the country is the biggest honour for any player. In the last few years, the pressure on Kohli has shown itself more. But now, he is not under the pressure of captaincy. So, when he met me here, he was looking very relaxed. He only wants to play for the team. He still has the same routine where he works out in the gym for an hour and a half before practice," said Harbhajan.
He took the example of another legendary cricketer Wasim Akram, and said, "Not only Kohli but big players like Wasim Akram have gone through bad phases. A big player is one who stands up from the fall. I think now Kohli is going to be back in form."
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi shared his thoughts on how the 33-year-old star can come back to form, "I like Virat because he always plays aggressive cricket. The expectations from him are very high and in such a situation when the times are bad, it gets difficult. But my belief is that you should focus on the strength that you have and work on that. I think Kohli himself is a big player and he knows how to come out of it."
After back-to-back series wins over England, West Indies, and Zimbabwe, India are all set to face their rivals in the much-awaited clash. All eyes will be on Kohli because of his form, and Rohit Sharma, with the latter looking to win his second Asia Cup as India's skipper.
