Shoaib Akhtar felicitates Afghanistan for beating Pakistan

Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan's former pacer who holds the record for the fastest ball in cricketing history, congratulated Afghanistan on their first-ever T20I series victory over Pakistan.

Afghanistan overcame late nerves in the closing overs to beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the second T20I on Sunday and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series.

In response, Akhtar, on his YouTube channel, said: "I am very happy. If Pathans and Bengalis channelise their energy, they can become the world’s leading communities. I am very happy that our Pathan brothers have won."

For the last match, Akhtar advised Pakistan's stand-in skipper Shadab Khan to ensure his side gives a tough time to the Afghan team.

“Make a strong comeback. Make sure you give tough competition to Afghanistan. It might seem difficult but Afghanistan have played some tough cricket. It’s nice to see them win against Pakistan for the first time — and it makes me happy that they did it by playing mature cricket."

The pacer also expressed the desire to visit the Afghan capital and meet his mates there.

"Afghanistan needs good news all the time. I get a lot of phone calls from Afghanistan friends. I want to come to Kabul," he said.