New Delhi: There’s a new couple taking the cricketing world by storm and it’s not Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma. Pakistani fans are enamoured by the growing friendship between cricketers Shadab Khan and Kohli, which was on display in the ongoing Asia Cup Super 4 series in Sri Lanka. One video of a friendly banter between the two cricketers during Sunday’s match sent everyone in a tizzy, with many Pakistani fans calling them the ‘new couple in town’.
Rain playing spoilsport for two consecutive India-Pakistan matches at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, and the lack of any actual cricket being played, is further fuelling interest in the Kohli-Khan bond.
“Babar Shadab ko daant toh nahi raha hoga” (I hope Babar is not scolding Shadab) said one Pakistani fan sharing a picture of Kohli looking disheartened in the dugout. Another fan joked, “Please ek baar Virat ko Shadab se milne do, Virat ne surf pi li hai”. (Umpire, please let Virat meet Shadab once, he has consumed surf)
It’s raining memes online, from Kohli’s concern about Khan’s health to a photo of Kohli cheering, captioned: “Virat kohli after getting shadab khan’s phone number.”
Another popular post on X (formerly Twitter) has a photo of Kohli looking out of the window captioned: “Aunty Shadab hai? Usko please bhej dain, hum Maghrib say paihlay wapis ajayeingay.”(Aunty, is Shadab home? Please send him. We’ll be back before evening prayer time.)
Aunty Shadab hai? Usko please bhej dain, hum Maghrib say paihlay wapis ajayeingay pic.twitter.com/k6pb5xh3fw
— Jasir Shahbaz (@LahoreMarquez) September 10, 2023
Kohli when he realises he will get to meet Shadab tomorrow as well pic.twitter.com/D9Mzne5dPH
— Osama. (@ashaqeens) September 10, 2023
Dono mulk in deep depression.
Kohli & Shadab pic.twitter.com/JZr5Uxkavl— Jasir Shahbaz (@LahoreMarquez) September 10, 2023
VIRAT KOHLI × SHADAB KHAN 🙃 💔 pic.twitter.com/LALgNCoqP6
— Mudassir Khan (@Mudassirkhan090) September 10, 2023
Shadab pata nhi kiske sath pakore kha raha hoga pic.twitter.com/wjXPpKasLR
— amna || babar stan ♡ (@stfuamnah) September 10, 2023
Also read: Brand Virat Kohli and how he became the world’s most marketable cricketer
Sportsmanship & off pitch camaraderie
Ahead of the Asia Cup Four series, in an interview to Star Sports, Khan had called Kohli a ‘world class player’.
“He (Kohli) is a world-class player, definitely. You have to plan a lot to face him,” he said.
There’s no denying that Kohli has played some of his finest games against Pakistan and Khan. In the 2012 Asia Cup he scored an unbeaten 183 and again an unbeaten 82 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the 2022 T20 World Cup. This was the same game where India needed 28 runs off eight deliveries and Kohli decided to change the game, smashing consecutive sixes of Pakistan’s Haris Rauf and handing India victory in the final over.
Recalling the innings, Khan added that only Kohli could play such knocks at will and produce match-winning innings.
“The kind of batsman that Virat Kohli is, the way he has performed against us, even in the last match at the (2022 T20) World Cup, I don’t think that if any other batsman in the world was in that situation, could have done that to our bowling line-up,” he said.
Politics or security issues?
With the rain causing a delay, two days in a row, several cricket commentators have criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for holding matches in Sri Lanka instead of Pakistan.
Former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram told Star Sports that the “BCCI and its secretary Jay Shah needs to be called out for such blatant hypocrisy” referring to the location for matches.
BCCI should take this meme as a soul searching exercise — and a free swimming lesson #INDvPAK
— Wajahat S. Khan (@WajSKhan) September 11, 2023
Previously, ace cricketer Shahid Afridi too had commented on Jay Shah’s statement on security concerns in Pakistan.
I came across Mr @JayShah’s statement about security situation in Pakistan. Just to refresh his memory, Pakistan has hosted the following foreign players/teams in the past six years:
2017 – ICC World XI & SL
2018 – WI
2019 – WI (W), BD (W) & SL
2020 – BD, PSL, MCC & Zim
2021 –…— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) September 6, 2023
Former Pakistani test cricketer Tanveer Ahmed too blamed Shah. “Asia Cup is close to its damage only because of Jay Shah,” he said.
Many disappointed fans on both sides of the border agreed with the criticism of Shah and the BCCI. One of them declared the winner of the India-Pakistan match—“Jay Shah’s ego”.
. #INDvPAK #PAKvIND #IndiavsPak
All are ready for the Match… 👍
But do you know Who is going to Win ⁉️
Ans : It's Jay Shah's Ego 🥺😢#INDvsPAK #BHAvsPAK #Bharat #Pakistan #AsiaCup2023 #AsiaCup #Colombo #SriLanka #BCCI #PCB #ViratKohli #RohitSharma #ShaheenAfridi… pic.twitter.com/hwAjo4qgWH
— Dr Jain (@DrJain21) September 11, 2023