With the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup 2023 approaching, cricket enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the performance of India’s star batter, Virat Kohli, against Pakistan’s formidable bowling attack, which includes talents like Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. Kohli has historically shown exceptional performance against arch-rivals like Pakistan, as demonstrated by his outstanding show in the T20 World Cup in Melbourne last year. All eyes will be on Kohli as he faces the Pakistani pacers on September 2 at Kandy’s Pallekele International Stadium.
Recently, during a press conference where India’s 17-member squad for the Asia Cup was announced, newly-appointed BCCI Chairman of Selectors, Ajit Agarkar, reportedly made a statement about Kohli’s prowess against Pakistan’s bowling attack. The statement, though not an actual response to a question, gained traction on social media platforms.
Despite the lack of a direct question on the matter, a fictitious response attributed to Agarkar circulated, suggesting that Kohli would “take care of” Pakistan’s bowlers. However, this response was not part of the actual press conference.
Reacting to the erroneous claim, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan expressed his skepticism about such claims. Following Pakistan’s 59-run victory against Afghanistan in the third ODI in Colombo, Shadab stated that mere words cannot determine the outcome of a match. He highlighted that the truth will only be revealed on the day of the match.
Shadab Khan was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, “It depends on a particular day, probably. Now, someone from India or I can make any claim, but those are just words. Anybody can say anything and that doesn’t change or affect anything. When we will have the match, then we might see what goes on.”
In recent times, Virat Kohli has faced Pakistan in T20I contests since 2019, scoring 158 runs in 110 balls against pacers such as Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, and Shahnawaz Dahani. Kohli has been dismissed only once by Shaheen Afridi in the 2021 T20 World Cup, after scoring a fifty.
As anticipation builds for the India vs Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup 2023, cricket enthusiasts eagerly await the showdown between Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s bowling talents, and the real outcome will unfold on match day.
