There may be a lot of talk about their rivalry and comparisons drawn every day but Virat Kohli and Babar Azam have nothing but respect for each other. The two stalwarts of modern-day cricket met after a long time on Wednesday in Dubai ahead of Asia Cup 2022 and the way they greeted each other almost immediately took social media by storm. Pakistan players were leaving after their practice session and the Indian team had just entered when Kohli and Babar met. The former India captain shook hands with Babar with a big smile which was reciprocated by the Pakistan captain. Pakistan great Mohammad Yousuf, who is currently the batting coach of the Men in Green was also seen having a long friendly chat with Kohli.
Videos and photos of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam greeting each other like long-time friends spread like wildfire on various social media platforms. Caught in the fever was a Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Quetta Gladiators. They posted Kohli and Babar's photo on Twitter and asked the netizens to caption it.
Here are some of the outrageous replies to Quetta Gladiators' tweet on Virat Kohli Babar Azam's handshake
Kohli and Babar have always been on good terms with each other. Babar Azam won hearts by tweeting in Kohli's support a couple of months ago when the India great was going through a tough time in England. Apart from that, Babar has time and again talked about his admiration for Kohli.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli and Babar have always been on good terms with each other. Babar Azam won hearts by tweeting in Kohli's support a couple of months ago when the India great was going through a tough time in England. Apart from that, Babar has time and again talked about his admiration for Kohli.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli, on the other hand, is making a comeback to the Indian side after missing the West Indies and Zimbabwe tours. The former India captain has been under a lot of pressure of late due to criticism from various quarters for not being at his best in the last couple of years. But the kind of quality he possesses, it should only be a matter of time before he produces a match-winning effort.
India and Pakistan are placed in Group B and they begin their campaign on August 28 in Dubai. The last time these two teams met at the same venue a year ago in T20 World Cup, Pakistan had beaten India by 10 wickets to register their maiden win over the neighbours in a World Cup match in any format.
India, however, are the defending champions and they had beaten Pakistan twice in the last Asia Cup in UAE under Rohit Sharma's captaincy in 2018.