WATCH: Wasim Akram lashes out at Babar Azam's gesture involving Virat Kohli after Pakistan's embarrassing loss to India in 2023 ODI World Cup

In the modern era of cricket, players from different teams share a good bond with each other both on and off the field. While this may be appreciated by some, many others cannot digest it as they believe there should be a heated rivalry when the players are on the field. And for them, this is a must when the match is between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

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In such a scenario, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram lashed out at the current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for his gesture involving India's Virat Kohli. After Pakistan's humiliating seven-wicket loss to the Men in Blue in the 2023 ODI World Cup on Saturday, October 14, Babar was seen receiving the Team India jerseys from Kohli. 

The two modern-day greats share a good camaraderie and have often expressed it publicly. Notably, when Kohli was going through the worst patch of his career for nearly three years, Babar extended his support to the Indian batting stalwart. Their recent gesture after the World Cup match was also highly praised by fans on social media. 

This should be a private matter: Wasim Akram 

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However, Akram wasn't pleased with it and during a panel discussion, the legendary pacer came down hard on his countryman. During a show on A-Sports, the left-arm pacer said that even if Babar wanted to ask Kohli for the jersey, it should have been away from the cameras. Akram added that their captain should not have done this publicly when Pakistani fans were hurting over their team's defeat. 

“I can see Babar is receiving two shirts from Virat Kohli. Everybody is showing this clip over and over again. But after your fans are so hurt after a disappointing performance, this should be a private matter, it should not be done in an open ground," said Akram. 

“That’s what I exactly said when I saw the picture [getting the shirts publicly, not privately]. Today was not the day to do this. If you want to do it – if your uncle’s son has asked you to get Kohli’s shirt – then do it after the game in the dressing room," he added.

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Watch the video below: 

Wasim Akram says Babar Azam shouldn't have asked for Virat Kohli's shirt after Pakistan's big defeat against India tonight. It wasn't the right time to do that! Do you agree? #CWC23 #INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/csFm2TmToV

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) October 14, 2023

Earlier, former India opener Gautam Gambhir had also launched a similar attack on Team India players for their friendly conversation with Pakistan players. During an Asia Cup 2023 game, the match was halted due to rain, and players from both teams were seen laughing and talking to each other before abandoning the game. This did not go down well with Gambhir and he slammed the players for not having the fire inside.