Former T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi was out on the streets of New York ahead of Pakistan’s clash with India. There, he encountered a group of fans from the neighbouring country. Shaheen immediately seemed at ease, sitting with the bunch of enthusiasts and clicking pictures while interacting with them. The fans had their arms around Shaheen, who was at ease and played along even while he was getting teased.
One fan requested him to not bowl well in the game. “Please kal achchhi bowling mat karna [Please don’t bowl well tomorrow],” leaving everyone, including Shaheen, in splits.
Another supporter chipped in by saying, “Rohit [Sharma] aur Virat [Kohli] ko apne achchhe dost samjho [consider Rohit and Virat your close friends]”, following which Shaheen laughed sheepishly.
Shaheen has three wickets in two T20Is against India, all of which came in the 2021 T20 World Cup, where he dismissed Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul. In the recent past, he has been in the news for his heartwarming gestures towards the Indian players.
Ahead of the 2022 Asia Cup, he walked up to an out-of-form Virat Kohli and wished him luck for the tournament, admitting to having prayed for the latter’s poor run to come to an end. At the 2024 Asia Cup, Shaheen handed a gift basket after Jasprit Bumrah became a father for the first time.
Watch Shaheen Shah Afridi being teased by the Indian fans here:
Indian fans to Shaheen Afridi :
— Aaraynsh (@aaraynsh) June 8, 2024
“Kal acchi bowling nahi karni hai”
“Rohit ko aur Virat ko apne acche dost samjho” 😂
pic.twitter.com/20jG1zL3ip
