Former Pakistan pace legend Shoaib Akhtar has been pretty vocal about the Indian players and never holds himself back from heaping praise on the outstanding performers. As the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, are gearing up to lock horns in the much-anticipated clash at the ICC T20 World Cup on Sunday, the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has asserted that people in his country appreciate the way Team India plays the game and the youngsters it’s been producing.
Speaking with Zee News, Shoaib said the citizens of Pakistan admire the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and, in fact, they consider the latter greater than the India skipper.
“Today, there are no Pakistanis who say that India does not have a good team. They appreciate it openly. They consider Virat Kohli is a great player and Rohit Sharma even greater.
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“People here in Pakistan say, ‘he is the Inzamam-Ul-Haq of India’. People appreciate Rishabh Pant, for the way he had played in Australia. Then there is Suryakumar Yadav. He is being appreciated too. So, Pakistan holds a very good narrative about India,’ Shoaib told Zee News.
Akhtar further spoke about the love and affection he has received from the people of India. Citing the example of his videos on social media, he said he always makes ‘balanced comments’.
“If you look at my videos, they are not on the ground of hate. I believe that as a former cricketer, a brand ambassador and as a human being, that my comments should be balanced. People say that the comments I make are to make money. That is not true. I have so many fans in India. I am a lucky Pakistani whom Indians love so much. There is no doubt about that. I don’t want to hurt their sentiments or mine,” Akhtar pointed out.
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Team India and Pakistan will square off against each other on Sunday in Dubai. The men-in-blue have won both their warm-up games – against England and Australia. On the other hand, Pakistan won against West Indies but lost to South Africa.
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