St. Moritz: Bilateral relations have dictated the cricketing ties between arch-rivals India and Pakistan but Shahid Afridi feels that the tension between the two countries doesn’t determine his, “cordial relations” with Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
“My relationship with Virat is not dictated by political situation. Virat [Kohli] is a fantastic human being and an ambassador of cricket for his country, just like I am for my country,” said the former Pakistan skipper on the sidelines of the St.Moritz Ice Cricket Tournament.
“He [Kohli] has always shown a lot of respect, and has even gone out of his way to present a signed jersey for my foundation [Shahid Afridi Foundation],” added Afridi.
Afridi’s foundation has been doing a lot of work in providing clean and safe drinking water in Pakistan.
“There is a lot of warmth whenever I have spoken to Virat. It’s not that we get a chance to speak a lot, but from time to time, he would drop in a message and I would do the same. I congratulated him recently when I came to know the he was getting married.
“I believe as cricketers we can set examples of how relationship between individuals can be a template for relationship between countries. I think after Pakistan, the two countries where I have received most love and respect are India and Australia,” added the 36-year-old.
Kohli’s aggressive nature doesn’t surprise someone like Afridi, who himself was a free-spirited cricketer in his playing days. The former all-rounder also supported Kohli’s move of supporting the youngsters in crisis situations, saying that it has earned the Indian captain a lot of respect.
“Virat is doing a brilliant job. I have no problem with aggression if it is a controlled one,” Afridi said.
“And Virat’s character is different from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was a composed individual. Now suddenly, you cannot change the inherent nature of a person. Virat’s greatest asset is that he can take the team along,” the 36-year-old also said.
When asked to compare Kohli with Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, Afridi said, “Sarfraz is still new to the job and he will only get better along the way. The only thing I don’t like is that media running down players during their rough times.”
“As long as you are winning, everything is fine and you lose a game and all hell breaks loose. That is grossly unfair. We should not overlook someone’s past achievements just because he is going through a bad patch.”