'Would have been best friends with Virat Kohli off-field, but...': Shoaib Akhtar

When it comes to cricket, the on-field rivalry is something that gets fans excited and entertained, especially if it is between India and Pakistan.

Face-offs between Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar vs Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid vs Akhtar, Virender Sehwag vs Saqlain Mushtaq, Sohail Abbas vs Venketeshwar Prasad and many more still remain afresh in the minds fans. 

Now talking about the game and rivalry, Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar predicted that he would have been very close to Indian skipper Virat Kohli off the field.

However, he stated that, when it would come to on the field, both of them would have been fierce competitors.

Speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo's podcast, Akhtar revealed, "Virat Kohli would have been best of my friends because both of us are Punjabis and we have similar kind of nature, even though he is a lot junior to me, I really respect him. We would have been best off the friends but on the field, we would have been the best of the best enemies."

As for both, their careers overlapped during the high-voltage Asia Cup in 2010 at Dambulla. However, when Kohli was in the middle (for his 27-ball 18), Akhtar was taken out of the attack, and the two never faced each other.