“Indian cricket is incomplete without you,” Shoaib Akhtar’s rich praise for Sourav Ganguly
Rivalry aside, there is a mutual respect between the cricketers of India and Pakistan.
As the two countries set to lock horns in the Champions Trophy next month, Netflix released a trailer looking ahead to the marquee fixture.
The trailer features former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, ex-India opener Virender Sehwag and former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar talking about the intense rivalry over the years.
In the clip, Ganguly talked about a particular bilateral series between India and Pakistan that was labelled as 'Friendship Series'.
"Friendship Series was only a name. But with Shoaib Akhtar bowling at 150 kilometres per hour, where is the friendship in that?" Ganguly said.
Akhtar acknowledged Ganguly's praise on social media platform X as he wrote, "Dada @SGanguly99 you're awesome. Indian cricket is incomplete without you."
The upcoming Champions Trophy, featuring eight teams, marks Pakistan's first global cricket event in 28 years. However, all of India’s games will be played in Dubai under the hybrid model.
India and Pakistan are placed in Group A along with Bangladesh and New Zealand. While the hosts will open their campaign against New Zealand in Karachi on February 19, the Men in Blue will play their first match against Bangladesh a day later.
The two fierce rivals are scheduled to face each other on February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
