Friends Beyond Borders: Virat Kohli donates his ‘lucky’ bat to Shahid Afridi’s charity foundation

Shahid Afridi, who announced his retirement from international cricket in February earlier this year, wrote,'thank you Virat Kohli for your kind gesture'

By: Karan Nanda |
August 2, 2017 2:49 pm

In a priceless gesture, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli donated his ‘lucky’ bat to former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi for his charity foundation. Afridi took to his official Twitter handle to share this news with his friends and followers across the globe.

Afridi, who announced his retirement from international cricket in February earlier this year, wrote: “Thank you @imVkohli for your kind gesture in support of @SAFoundationN. Friends & supporters like you ensure #HopeNotOut for everyone.”

Virat Kohli, who is currently leading the Indian side against Sri Lanka, quickly replied and sent his best wishes to the former Pakistan all-rounder.

Thank you @imVkohli for your kind gesture in support of @SAFoundationN. Friends & supporters like you ensure #HopeNotOut for everyone pic.twitter.com/T6z7F2OYLb

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) August 1, 2017

Virat on his Twitter page wrote: “You’re most welcome Shahid Bhai.. Wishing you and the @SAFoundationN all the luck for the upcoming events. #HopeNotOut.”

You’re most welcome Shahid Bhai.. Wishing you and the @SAFoundationN all the luck for the upcoming events. __ #HopeNotOut https://t.co/Rv1NNPJGC5

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 1, 2017

Virat Kohli’s this reply got over 3,900 retweets and 20,000 likes in no time.

Earlier, in a friendly gesture, Team India had presented a Kohli ODI jersey with signatures of team members scribbled on its back to Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi following his retirement from the International cricket.

The jersey was auctioned on July 31 in London and it fetched a whopping 4300 euros (over ₹ 3 lakhs). According to the reports, the money raised will be donated to Shahid Afridi’s charity group ‘Shahid Afridi Foundation’. The foundation is currently raising funds to construct a hospital in Thar, Pakistan.

The ODI jersey, with the number 18 and ‘VIRAT’ printed on it, had the signatures of the Indian skipper, Yuvraj Singh and players from the Indian cricket team: Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, R. Ashwin, Hardik Pandya along with that of former coach Ravi Shastri, among others.

Virat Kohli’s shirt, signed by Indian team, for Shahid Afridi, with a message “always a pleasure playing against you.” pic.twitter.com/KexlCjTNeZ

— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) April 15, 2017

Kohli had a special message for the mercurial Pakistan cricketer: “Shahid Bhai, best wishes, always a pleasure playing against you”.

The jersey was handed over to Shahid Afridi after the two teams met in their group stage encounter of the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy.