Cricket News Today, 8th October 2018: Afridi compared to Sachin, Shoaib Akhtar trolled and more

Whether it's a high-intensity matchday or a dry mid-week of no cricketing action, the game always manages to bring out interesting news for avid followers to consume.

We welcome you, once again, to Sportskeeda's Cricket News Today, a series of daily updates that condenses news from across the world and puts it together for you to enjoy over dinner.

Here are some of the updates ahead of the day:

Sehwag compares Afridi to Sachin

The enigmatic character that is Shahid Afridi entertained us throughout his career for Pakistan, via his belligerent batting and canny bowling, not to mention his histrionics and infinite comebacks to the team.

Virender Sehwag, who stood opposite Afridi on the pitch several times, has admitted that there used to be multiple discussions over the Pakistani all-rounder in the Indian camp ahead of their games.

"Everyone in our team had talked about Afridi before my first series against Pakistan. As a player, he was like our Tendulkar in the Pakistan team and we all discussed about him," Sehwag was quoted as saying by Gulf News.

India-Pakistan games have dried out because of political tension between the two countries, and Sehwag hopes that bilateral series will resume in the future.

"Every Indian and Pakistani want to see an India-Pakistan series. We as cricketers too want to watch it. Hopefully the governments of both countries will talk and resume the series. I have many lovely memories like my triple century in the Multan Test match double century in Lahore Test and my century in Kochi ODI match," he added.

Akhtar trolled for calling himself 'Don of cricket'

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar retired from international cricket in 2011, but continues to have a huge fan following and is popular on Twitter for his forthright comments.

However, one of his recent tweets, where he described himself as the 'Don of Cricket', backfired, as he was slammed by Tweeple, who poked fun at his post that had a picture collage of batsmen reeling under the might of his speedy deliveries.

“Don of cricket as they called me but never enjoyed hurting people but I must say when I was out there I just ran in for the love of my country & for the people around the world ..,” read the caption.

Don of cricket as they called me but never enjoyed hurting people but I must say when I was out there I just ran in for the love of my country & for the people around the world .. pic.twitter.com/be84Y2yYl5

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 7, 2018

Users reminded him of Sachin Tendulkar's whirlwind knock against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, a 98-run-effort where he took the bowlers, including Akhtar, to the cleaners.

How can you forget this gem from @sachin_rt !!Smashing you my friend.You were also winning asia cup this time..😂 pic.twitter.com/jyFgga9EXc

— Gautam (@TheMystic19) October 7, 2018

Bopara terms current Indian bowling best he has seen

Ravi Bopara

England all-rounder Ravi Bopara, who last played for his national side in 2015, has deemed the current Indian bowling line-up the best he has witnessed.

“India played rather well and it wasn’t a 4-1 series; it was much closer. And I was really impressed by India’s pace bowlers. They were brilliant; the best of Indian seamers that I have seen in the 27 years that I have been following cricket. And Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t even play,” Bopara was quoted as saying to Sportstarlive.

After playing with a Bhuvneshwar Kumar-less line-up in the Tests in England, India brushed off the 4-1 series loss with a title-win in the Asia Cup.

BCCI takes 'no decision' on Kohli's request

The BCCI has declared that no decision will be taken by the council regarding India captain Virat Kohli's request to allow wives of players to accompany them for entire overseas tours, saying that the policy will remain the same and the decision won't be changed any time in the near future.

Currently, the rule allows wives to accompany cricketers for only 14 days on an overseas tour.

“Yes he (Virat) had requested, but we are not going to take any decision soon. We have said that we will leave it to the new office bearers. The policy will not change now,” CoA sources were quoted as saying to ANI.