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India and Pakistan will lock horns at the T20 World Cup 2022 this Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Although the weather forecast hints that rain might play spoilsport in the next chapter of cricket's greatest rivalry, fans across the world are excited for the Indo-Pak battle.
Earlier this year, India and Pakistan battled twice in the Asia Cup 2022. India won the group stage match, while Pakistan emerged victorious in the Super Fours battle. It will be interesting to see which team wins the third match between the two arch-rivals in 2022.
Ahead of their T20 World Cup 2022 match, here's a look at five moments that highlighted the friendship between India and Pakistan cricketers.
#1 Virat Kohli and Shaheen Afridi's chat before Asia Cup 2022
Ahead of the Asia Cup 2022, a few players of the Indian team spoke with their rivals from Pakistan. The chat between Indian batter Virat Kohli and Pakistani bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi went viral on social media. While Kohli asked Shaheen about his injury, the Pakistani star told the Indian batter that he had been praying for his return to form.
"Aapke lie dua kar rahe hai aap wapis form me aaye (We are praying that your form comes back)," Shaheen Afridi told Virat Kohli.
The cricket universe is eagerly waiting to witness the Shaheen Afridi vs Virat Kohli clash in the T20 World Cup 2022.
#2 Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam's pre T20 World Cup 2022 photoshoot
Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Pakistan captain Babar Azam posed together at the pre-tournament press conference. They initially stood as opposition team captains, but in some of the candid pictures, they hugged each other and shared a laugh.
The candid clicks were loved by fans across India and Pakistan. It remains to be seen which captain wins the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 match.
#3 Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan's friendship
Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan played together for Sussex in the county season earlier this year. They had some great partnerships and also bonded during their time together in England.
The two heaped praise on each other after their county stint ended. While Rizwan named Pujara one of the most focused batters he has ever seen, the Indian batter labeled his Pakistani teammate as a nice guy and a talented cricketer.
#4 Babar Azam's message to Virat Kohli
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has a healthy relationship with former Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Although they have not played too many matches against each other, they respect each other a lot.
When Kohli was going through a bad phase in his career earlier this year, Babar urged him to stay strong and told him: "This too shall pass." Virat replied to his tweet with the following message:
“Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best 👏.”
#5 MS Dhoni honors Haris Rauf
MS Dhoni was India's mentor for the T20 World Cup 2021. After the match against Pakistan, he was spotted having a chat with players from the opposition team. In an interview with the Grade Cricketer, Haris Rauf disclosed that he asked Dhoni for one of his jerseys.
Rauf mentioned that he wanted a Chennai Super Kings jersey. Dhoni promised to send him one and the former Indian captain did so in July. Rauf took to Twitter to thank Dhoni and show his gift to his fans.
