While interacting with Pakistani mountaineer, Virat Kohli says hopefully he'll visit Pakistan 'soon'
Mountaineer Shehroze Kashif says video was recorded in 2022 when an Indian national met him in Nepal
May 17, 2024
Indian legendary batter Virat Kohli, in a brief interaction with mountaineer Shehroze Kashif, said hopefully he would come to Pakistan "soon".
Kashif posted a video of his small talk with Kohli. The video is recorded from backside of the cell phone on which the Pakistani mountaineer was talking, therefore, Kohli’s face could not be seen but his voice could clearly be heard.
The 35-year-old is heard saying, "Give my regards to your family and all your friends. Hopefully, we visit Pakistan soon, (as) everyone's started visiting now."
The mountaineer said the video was recorded in 2022 when an Indian national, stranger to him then, met him in Nepal and praised his mountain climbing skill.
The Indian man told Kashif about his links to the Indian national team, so the mountaineer “jokingly expressed” his desire to talk to Virat Kohli.
“To my surprise, he messaged Kohli on my behalf, and I had the opportunity to chat with him via video call. As a Pakistani, I proudly acknowledge Kohli as the greatest batsman of this era,” he wrote in the video's caption.
Kashif avoided revealing the name of the person who arranged this online meeting to avoid getting him in trouble for "political reasons".
Over the past 10 years, the right-handed batsman has been India's best player. Kohli made his debut in an ODI match at Dambulla against Sri Lanka in 2008. Since then, he has played in 113 Test matches, 292 ODIs, and 117 T20 matches. He has scored 80 centuries and total 26n733 international runs across formats.
The star Indian batter performed tremendously in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) and currently is the highest run-scorer with 661 runs in 13 innings at 66.10 run rate.
Kohli will feature in his team for ICC T20 World Cup, slated to take place in the United States and West Indies next month.
India will start their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, while the most-anticipated clash with Pakistan will take place on June 9 at the same venue.
