Ex-Pakistan Prime Minister takes massive dig at Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli after two of India's best fell to Shaheen Afridi in Asia Cup 2023

Cricket fans don't get to witness an India-Pakistan match often, but when the two clash, it's always a high-intensity encounter and a crowd-puller. That is the emotion and feeling that this special match can bring to the players, former cricketers, politicians and fans of both countries. The two cricketing giants only meet in major multi-national tournaments and the most recent faceoff between them was in the Asia Cup 2023 match at Pallekale on Saturday, September 2.

We got to see just one innings as rain played spoilsport to disrupt a thrilling contest. However, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya provided some enthralling moments in 48.5 overs. Batting first, the India openers got off to a decent start with Rohit Sharma hitting a couple of boundaries before rain interrupted play for the first time. Shaheen didn't have a good start, but just when it looked like it would be a rare off day in his career, rain came in 4.2 overs, giving the left-arm pacer a chance to reassess his game.

A short delay in the game helped Shaheen bounce back

The short brief helped the pace sensation as he needed just three balls to give the team a breakthrough by removing the Indian captain. Since then Shaheen looked very threatening and former India captain Virat Kohli was his next victim. The 23-year-old sent their top two batters back to the pavilion early, but Ishan Kishan and vice-captain Hardik Pandya put up a sensational fightback to guide India to a respectable total of 266-10.

Shaheen became the first bowler to dismiss Rohit and Kohli in the same ODI, while the speedster also took the wicket of the dangerous Pandya and finished with a stunning fugue of 4/35. Shaheen's spell with the new ball was a treat to watch and it even drew a strong response from former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He took to X (earlier known as Twitter) to praise Shaheen while also taking a massive indirect dig at Rohit and Kohli with a four-word tweet.

Here's what Shehbaz Sharif posted on X

“THEY CANNOT PLAY HIM” https://t.co/wYmOCFezDR

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) September 2, 2023

As the match was abandoned, both India and Pakistan shared one point. Babar Azam and Co. have now got three points after their massive win against Nepal in the tournament opener. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue need to win their next match against Nepal on September 4 to advance to the Super Four stage of the 2023 Asia Cup.