Dubai: Indian MP Shashi Tharoor meets Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar at airport; photo goes viral

Indian Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor met Pakistan cricket star Shoaib Akhtar at the Dubai airport on Monday. Tharoor said that he was “pleasantly surprised when Shoaib Akhtar said hello.”

Shashi Tharoor was returning to New Delhi, India, after attending the Bradford Literature Festival in England.

Sharing a selfie with the legendary Pakistani pacer on Twitter, Shashi Tharoor wrote, “On my way back to Delhi via Dubai, I was pleasantly surprised when Shoaib Akhtar said hello. What a smart and engaging young man the tearaway fast bowler is!”

The Indian politician added that Shoaib Akhtar has “plenty of fans on our side of the border” and that all the Indians who greeted him also wanted a picture with the pacer. Tharoor added that they had a “good conversation about (inevitably) India, Pakistan and cricket”.

Shashi Tharoor’s post also drew a response from Shoaib Akhtar who tweeted, “What a pleasure running into you Shashi [Tharoor] ji”.

The post has clocked more than 468k views on social media. People have also reacted to the picture-perfect moment. Some pointed out that Shashi Tharoor and Shoaib Akhtar were “sporting almost the same hairstyle.”

A user wrote, “You both can pass off as brothers with the hairstyle, looks and all.”

Referring to Shoaib Akhtar’s nickname, a person said, “Rawalpindi express. What a bowler he was..”

• Watch: Legendary Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar stunned by '100-year-old' fast bowler who mimics his style