Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi absolutely loves making headlines, and now when his autobiography has hit the stores, he is not letting go of any opportunity to make his presence felt. In an earlier intervention, he had picked his all-time World Cup XI and had ignored both Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni while including current India captain Virat Kohli.
The former all-rounder has now given an explanation for the same. As per Afridi, he considers both Sachin and Dhoni legends of the game, but then picked Kohli because he looked majestic and beautiful while batting. "Sachin and Dhoni are greats and they have achieved a lot for Indian cricket. I picked Kohli because he just looks so majestic and beautiful to watch while batting," Afridi told PTI.
Shahid Afridi's all-time World Cup XI: Saeed Anwar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Inzamam ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq
At a time when cricketing equations between India and Pakistan are not quite friendly, Afridi said that he enjoys watching Indian cricketers and also shares a wonderful relationship with them. "I have enjoyed each and every tour of India because of the love and affection I and other Pakistani players have got always there. I admire Indian cricket because of the way the sport is run there and how the money they earn is invested back into the game and towards players," he added.
The former captain, who is quite vocal on Twitter, also said that he believed cricket was the only way to reduce tensions between the two nations and when the two teams travel to each other's countries, there will be more people to people contact to help in reducing the misunderstandings.
Flintoff considers Kohli to be 'best ever'
Former England captain Andrew Flintoff, who also does not mind speaking his mind said that Virat Kohli has a slight edge over Sachin Tendulkar.
He was speaking at an interaction organised by the World Cup Organising Committee and said that Kohli was the 'best player ever'. "Honestly Virat is possibly the best player ever. Maybe even more than Sachin. I never thought I would see anyone that would compare to Sachin," the all-rounder said.
Speaking about the upcoming World Cup, Flintoff said that he believes England are the favourites, but also backs India and Australia to clinch the trophy as they have the fire power and talent to go all the way. "England genuinely have a great chance to lift the trophy this summer. I'd then put India in there. You know they have the fire power and talent to do it. But you can never rule out Australia," Flintoff added.
