“The day Virat Kohli plays in Pakistan…”: Former Pak Star’s bold statement

There is probably no bigger brand in world cricket at the moment than India’s Virat Kohli. The ‘chase-master’ has the greatest record in the cricket spectrum, especially in the ODI format, and his craze remains unparalleled no matter which part of the globe he goes to. While Pakistan remains India’s biggest rival, even fans across the border are crazy about Virat Kohli. Former Pakistan stars like Rashid Latif, Azhar Ali, etc. went crazy over Kohli, narrating the fan following India’s talisman in the neighboring country.

“The day Virat plays in Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi or Multan, only then will you understand his passion for Pakistan,” said former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali The Indian Express.

“You won’t believe it, but the stadium will be full of green shirts, magar peeche naam Babar ya Shaheen ka nahi, Virat ka hoga aur No 18 ke saath (but the name on the back will not be Babar Azam or Shaheen Shah Afridi, it will be Virat Kohli’s along with his number 18 jersey),” he added.

Virat Kohli went through a difficult period with the bat, from 2019 to 2022. It was not just India who prayed for his form during that phase, but Pakistan too. Ali said he himself prayed for Kohli when he was struggling to run.

“When he was out of shape, I prayed for him many times. Allah isko aaj run banane do (Please God let him score). I prayed for Kohli. I don’t know why, but I did it consistently for three years,” he laughs. “You will find people who will criticize Virat’s batting, but before criticizing him, at least try to understand what he has done for over 15 years. There was a fall, but he recovered. I didn’t see anyone doing that,” says Azhar.

Rashid Latif, a former Pakistan batsman, summed up Virat’s fan following in Pakistan, suggesting that his popularity in the country is on par with Bollywood legends like Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, etc.

“It’s not that Virat is the first one with such a huge fan base in Pakistan,” Latif said. “If you go back, Dilip Kumar had a lot of fans in Pakistan. Sunil Gavaskar became a cult in Pakistan. Young batsmen were told to copy Gavaskar Saab’s technique. Then Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘angry young man’ films used to sell out .Then came Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, MS Dhoni When Dhoni came here, his long hair became a trend.

“But Virat’s popularity in Pakistan is on par with Dilipsaab, Mr Bachhan and Shah Rukh. Like in India, you loved our bowlers – Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar became household names. Here in Pakistan, we love Gavaskarsaab, Tendulkar, then Dhoni and now Kohli – they are all icons Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag also have good fans in Pakistan But all said and done, Virat. ko le kar deewanapan next level hai,” he said.