What Virat Kohli says about first meeting with Babar Azam?

Fans wait with bated breath for the Asia Cup and World Cup to bring some much-needed excitement into their lives while scrolling through past interviews of their favourite cricketers before they are seen in action on the field.

As the two teams prepare for the coveted Asia Cup 2023 trophy, fans of Kohli and Azam cannot wait to see their favourites play on the field together. But for now, they're making do with an interview of the Indian star batter, Virat Kohli, which Star Sports decided to bring back.

The interview, which is from last year, is doing the rounds on social media again with fans rejoicing the way Kohli gushes about Pakistan captain Babar Azam and reminisces about the camaraderie they share since they first met.

The friendship between Azam and Kohli took a pleasant turn when the former expressed support for the latter, as he struggled with his batting form last year — a time when the comparison between their batting styles was a hot topic among cricket pundits.

Kohli, during the interview, warmly recalled his first-ever interaction with Azam, lavishing praise on him.

The former Indian skipper termed the Pakistan captain as "one of the top batters in the world across formats."

He spoke about his first meeting with a young Babar, sharing about their friendly exchanges.

"The first interaction I had with him was in the 2019 World Cup after the game in Manchester. Him and Imad. I knew Imad from U-19 days. Imad said Babar wanted to have a chat, and so we sat down and spoke about the game," he said.

The Indian star batter said he saw a lot of regard and respect from Babar from the first day.

"... and it hasn't changed regardless of the fact that he is now one of the top batsmen in the world right now across formats and has been performing so consistently, and rightly so," Kohli added.

The highly-anticipated clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is slated to take place on September 2 during the Asia Cup 2023.