Off-the-field camaraderie between Virat Kohli, Mohammad Aamir and Shahid Afridi grabbed attention on the eve of Saturday’s much-awaited India-Pakistan contest in the ICC World T20 in Kolkata.
Just before the Indian team was about to leave Eden Gardens, Aamir and Kohli greeted each other and were engaged in a long discussion.
Kohli also offered his bat to Aamir, who literally jumped with joy at the star Indian batsman's gesture and did some shadow practice with the willow.
While the rest of the Indian batsmen had a rigorous batting session, Kohli, who also exchanged pleasantaries with Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, adopted a different approach, taking throw downs for about 40 minutes from the local bowlers.
Having come a cropper against New Zealand's spinners, bowled out for 79, the intention basically was to clear the rope which the Indian batsmen did with ease.
Earlier, former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly removed the pitch covers when the Indians checked it in the afternoon and Kohli rushed to have a first look.
Ganguly, who had already said the pitch would be a belter, was seen talking to Kohli for long before he was joined by his old teammates, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra.
