'Where's friendship if Shoaib Akhtar...': Ganguly's viral Netflix series remark gets 'incomplete' reply from PAK legend

The year 2025 will have its first India—Pakistan face-off in men's cricket on February 23 in Dubai in the ICC Champions Trophy, but the buzz around the blockbuster clash peaked on Wednesday after Netflix dropped the trailer of the much-anticipated documentary The Greatest Rivalry: India vs. Pakistan. While the series is set to hit the online streaming platform on February 7, it has already sparked reactions from former rivals. Sourav Ganguly, Shoaib Akhtar are all set to feature in India vs Pakistan Netflix series

In the two-minute 13-second clip released by Netflix on social media, former India captain Sourav Ganguly is seen recalling the 1996 Friendship Cup, which was held in Canada, a neutral venue. However, he reckoned 'friendship' was merely a tag given to the series and it was not something Indian players had on their mind amid 150 kmph deliveries from Shoaib Akhtar.

He said: “It was a Friendship tour only in name, but when Shoaib Akhtar is going to bowl at 150 kilometres an hour, where is the friendship in that?”

Akhtar picked that very portion of the trailer, shared it on X, formerly known as Twitter, and came up with a classy reply to Ganguly, where he was rather in praise of the India legend.

He wrote: “Dada @SGanguly99 you're awesome. Indian cricket is incomplete without you.”

Notably, the Friendship Cup was held in 1996 and was an annual five-match ODI contest staged in Canada, and was only held in 1997 and 1998. While Ganguly played in all three editions, Akhtar featured in none.

'The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan'

The trailer began with former India cricketer Virender Sehwag calling the rivalry ‘more than just a game’, before the likes of Pakistan's Akhtar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, along with Indian counterparts Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar and Shikhar Dhawan revealed their experiences from being part of the contest over the years.

Netflix captioned the promo: “The biggest rivalry told by the legends who lived it Dive into a tale of passion, glory, and cricket’s fiercest rivalry in The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan, from 7 February, only on Netflix.”

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