Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif has dismissed the reports that he has shown interest in inviting Indian batting legend Virat Kohli for a cricket league, set to be held in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
Speaking on Cricket Baaz with Waheed Khan YouTube channel, Latif clarified that he did not make comments on inviting Kohli for the league and it was his boss Arif Malik, who had spoken on the same line.
Speaking on a Youtube channel, Latif said, “Yeh meine baat nahi ki, Virat Kohli wali baat. Hamare jo boss hai, Arif Malik saab, ne kal ek show men yeh baat ki. Ki invite karenge woh Virat Kohli; ko aur waha pe who aaye na aaye unki marzi hai, lekin initate [initiative] unhone liya hai, unki soch hai woh. Lekin yeh mere quote nahi hai” which translates into, “I did not comment on Virat Kohli. That was done by my boss Arif Malik in a show yesterday that he is keen to invite Kohli for the tournament. Whether he comes or not, is up to him, but it was Malik’s initiative, his thinking; and I did not have anything to do with it).”
Rashid Latif, 53, was recently appointed as the Director of Operations for the league. Earlier, he backed the idea of inviting Kohli.
“We should send an invitation [to Virat Kohli] but the decision to play lies with the player,” said Latif while in communication with Dawn News.
On the other hand, the tournament president Arif Malik said on Facebook: “We have a clear cut message for across the border. We want to do everything peacefully and keeping that in mind, we are writing a letter to Virat Kohli. He is one of the great players and now even players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are in the ICC rankings. When we talk about peace, all the guys should be on the same page."
“We recently saw that [Mohammad] Rizwan gave a very positive message that cricket should be beyond everything. Which is why we are writing a letter to Virat Kohli. Either he can come and play or at least attend one or two matches. It is up to him whether he wants to be a part of the tournament as a player or as a chief guest. We want to bring people of both sides together so that we can spread the message of peace," he further added.
