Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (PTI Photo)
NEW DELHI: India’s batting icons Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the most celebrated cricketers of the modern era. Known for their match-winning performances and ability to change the course of a game, both have a massive fan-following worldwide, including in Pakistan despite not playing even a single international match in the country.
Pakistan remains an absentee when it comes to countries where Virat and Rohit have entertained fans with their batting.
However, Virat did visit Pakistan once during his Under-19 days, but has never played there with the senior team.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal feels that Virat and Rohit, who have already big adieu to T20Is, should visit Pakistan before retiring from international cricket.
After India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup earlier this year, the Indian batting duo decided to quit the format in the international arena.
“Virat and Rohit should visit Pakistan before they retire,” Akmal said while talking to TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview. “These two are stars of world cricket, traveling across the globe to play the game. Every single fan loves them. They have a massive fan base due to their batting and match-winning performances.”
“The fan following they will experience in Pakistan will surpass anything they’ve seen elsewhere.”
The last series between India and Pakistan took place in 2012-13. Since then, the two teams have only clashed in multination tournaments like the Asia Cup and ICC events. The absence of regular bilateral series has left fans longing for the resumption of the thrilling India vs Pakistan contests.
“Virat is a role model for many around the world, Rohit is the World Cup-winning captain, and Bumrah is currently the best pacer in the world. When players like Virat, Rohit and Bumrah visit Pakistan, it will evoke unique feelings in every fan. Virat has been to Pakistan during his under-19 days, but he wasn’t as popular then,” Akmal said.
“If Virat visits Pakistan now, he will truly see his popularity here. He will receive a different kind of support in Pakistan. No cricketer is more popular than Virat in Pakistan; he has a bigger fan-following than any other cricketer in the world. Pakistani fans love Virat, Rohit and Bumrah more than any of their own cricket team players,” the former wicketkeeper said.
Virat and Rohit will be back in action in the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
The first Test will begin on September 19 in Chennai, followed by the second Test at Green Park in Kanpur from September 27.
