Ahead of the blockbuster clash of the Asia Cup 2023, India vs Pakistan, the players of both teams met each other and had a light interaction during their practice session. The two arch-rivals are set to face off on Saturday, September 2 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. While India will open their campaign in the 16th edition of the continental event, Pakistan started their campaign with a dominant 238-run win over Nepal.
Since the two neighbouring countries have not met in bilateral series for years, the hype and excitement of their encounters in major multi-national tournaments is always high. While Saturday's match is expected to produce thrilling action and bring intense emotions, the players were seen interacting with each other as both teams engaged in a common practice session under floodlights.
A video that has gone viral on social media begins with Virat Kohli catching up with Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a face-off between the duo as the former India captain single-handedly took the game away from Pakistan in last year's T20 World Cup, with two sixes against Rauf in the 19th over turning the tide.
In the video, Haris could be heard saying, “Jidhar se guzarta hu na, Kohli-Kohli hota hai (Wherever I go, I hear your name),” seemingly referring to the questions the right-arm pacer often faces about those sixes. Kohli was also seen interacting with Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan outside their dressing room. India skipper Rohit Sharma also had a chat with his counterpart Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq on Friday.
Watch the video below:
India 🤝 Pakistan players meet-up during practice session.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 1, 2023
Kohli & Rauf, Rohit & Babar, Siraj & Rauf and many more - lovely moments. pic.twitter.com/P01wJOIUHA
Pakistan already revealed their playing XI against India
While Pakistan have already announced their playing XI for the high-voltage clash, India have hinted that Ishan Kishan will replace KL Rahul in the middle order. Meanwhile, given the slow nature of the Pallekele pitch, Axar Patel is likely to get the nod ahead of Shardul Thakur.
Pakistan Playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
India Probable Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj