Pakistan cricket star Agha Salman has revealed that he sent a text message to Indian batting legend Virat Kohli after a heated on-field exchange between Kohli and former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. This text message later became a viral moment during the Asia Cup 2023.
In a recent interview with Islamabad United, Salman shared that he sent a direct message (DM) to Kohli after the incident, expressing his respect for the Indian star. While he declined to disclose the exact contents of the message, Salman emphasized that he holds Kohli in high regard.
“I have so much respect for Virat Kohli,” Salman said. “I don’t think there is any cricket fan in the world who doesn’t respect him. I texted him, I am not going to tell you the complete details but will just tell you the start. It started with ‘Virat Bhai’.”
Salman explained that he sent the message while watching a match with teammates Abdullah Shafique and Usama Mir. He clarified that the message contained no negative or offensive content.
“There was nothing [negative] in that message that would make people think I said something bad,” Salman said.
Unbeknownst to Salman, his text message would later become a viral moment during the Asia Cup 2023. Before Pakistan’s match against India, Kohli visited the Pakistan dressing room, where he was greeted by Salman and other players. During the interaction, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan mentioned Salman’s text message to Kohli, leading to a humorous exchange between the two players.
“I mistakenly told Shadab Khan about texting Virat,” Salman said. “You have watched the video of me, Shadab and Virat standing together [during Asia Cup 2023], actually, at that time, he [Shadab] had told him [Virat] that he [I] texted him.”
“We had a bit of laughter after I told Virat that I texted you this, he then told me he may have missed the message as he receives thousands of messages every day. It was all Shadab’s doing [telling Kohli].”
Salman’s text message to Kohli and the subsequent interaction during the Asia Cup 2023 highlighted the camaraderie and mutual respect between the two players, despite their on-field rivalry.
