3 min readKochiFeb 15, 2026 04:59 PM IST
Although the India-Pakistan rivalry has been ongoing for decades, it reached a new high following the 2025 Pahalgam attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor. While real-world conflicts between the two countries have always significantly impacted cricket, the 2025 incidents worsened matters, following which proposed matches between India and Pakistan faced uncertainty until the n-th hour, and Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during last year’s Asia Cup. Now, amid strife over Bangladesh being replaced in the tournament by Scotland for refusing to tour India due to safety concerns, India and Pakistan are set to lock horns in a group-stage match at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Despite frictions between the two nations, which have been especially intense since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, there have been times when renowned figures from one country heaped praise on those from the other, particularly in the realm of cricket. Among the notable instances is former cricketer and bowling legend Wasim Akram’s commendation of Shah Rukh Khan. As the co-owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where Akram served as a bowling coach for a couple of years, Shah Rukh worked extensively with the ex-cricketer. Akram has often praised the Bollywood legend for his commitment and the consideration he has shown players.
Once, he recalled an incident in which Bollywood’s Baadshah arranged a private plane for the team within a short time, after hearing that an otherwise lengthy journey would wear them out. “I think this happened during the 2012 IPL season. Our knockout match was in Kolkata, and I remember we were going to arrive via some place. Shah Rukh Khan was there. So I asked him, ‘Khan saab, ek request hai (Mr Khan, I have a request).’ I said, ‘Ladke bade thak jayenge, hum kal pahunchenge, parso match hai. Toh agar ek private plane (The team will get extremely tired. We’ll reach tomorrow, and the match is the day after. If a private plane could be arranged)…’ He replied, ‘Thak jayenge ladke? Koi problem nahi (They’ll get tired you say? No problem).’ Within one hour, pura Boeing jahaaz khada tha for the whole team,” the former Pakistan captain said in an interview with VU Sports once.
‘Shah Rukh Khan offered me an attractive job’
Wasim Akram has also credited his KKR stint as a key chapter in his life that significantly helped him overcome his substance abuse. “Movies conjure up an image of rehab as a caring, nurturing environment. This facility in Lahore was brutal: a bare building with five cells, a meeting room and a kitchen. Once out, I tried to keep calm, to get centred. Shah Rukh Khan offered me an attractive job as the bowling coach at Kolkata Knight Riders – my first senior coaching role anywhere,” he wrote in his autobiography.
The February 15 game is both India and Pakistan’s third group-stage match and will be held at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
