Pakistan cricket team spinner Abrar Ahmed found himself in the headlines after he gave a fiery send-off to Shubman Gill during the Champions Trophy 2025 match against India.

Following Pakistan’s loss in the encounter, he came under a lot of fire with Wasim Akram slamming him for his gesture. Abrar has now revealed that he teased Virat Kohli during the match and asked him to hit the spinner for a six. Virat was the top performer for India as he slammed a brilliant boundary while Abrar produced a solid performance. In a recent interview, he explained his admiration for the star batter and said that he was excited with the prospect of bowling to Kohli and took the opportunity to tease him.

“My childhood dream of bowling to Kohli has come true in Dubai,” Abrar told Telecom Asia Sport.

“It was a great challenge and I took the liberty of teasing him, asking him to hit me a six, but he never got angry. Kohli is a great batter, we all know that. But he is a great human being too.”

However, Virat’s reaction left him stunned.

“He said, ‘well bowled’ after the match, and that made my day,” he added. “I have grown up idolizing Kohli and used to tell Under-19 players that one day I will bowl to him”. “Kohli’s fitness is outstanding. The way he runs between the wicket is eye-catching and that’s what makes him a unique cricketer.”

The spinner also spoke about his send-off to Gill and said that it was his style and he found nothing wrong with it.

“That’s my style and I see nothing wrong with it. No official told me that I did anything wrong but if it hurt anyone, I am sorry for that. It was not my intention to hurt anyone,” said the spinner.