'When we went to India for the World Cup, I was captain. And I said...'

Pakistan are hosting England for a three-Test series that began on December 1 in Rawalpindi. England had faced a setback a day before the Test when a virus outbreak left many of their players infected, but the visitors eventually fielded an XI on time for the scheduled start of play. This is England's first Test tour of Pakistan in 17 years; in 2005, Michael Vaughan was the captain of the side that visited the country.

Ahead of the opening Test, England's captain Ben Stokes made a remarkable gesture when he pledged his entire match fees from the series towards the flood relief aid in Pakistan. The monsoon season had seen the most severe flooding in Pakistan, leaving several homeless, and public facilities and schools severely damaged.

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Justifiably, fans and former cricketers lauded Stokes for the gesture and Pakistan's ex-captain Shahid Afridi also spoke on the same during a discussion on the country's news channel, Samaa TV.

"I've always believed in that. When we went to India for the World Cup, I was there as a captain of the side. And I had said that the respect we get from India, we don't even get that from Pakistan. It was a positive message because the situation at that time. There were doubts over whether we would travel to India. As an athlete, the whole world watches you. You always want keep your country's reputation intact.

“Ben Stokes' gesture was amazing, it was a nice message. Such things should happen more often, the players are more friendly now. International players now share the dressing room together,” said Afridi.

Earlier, England had toured Pakistan for a seven-T20I series before the T20 World Cup, and the two sides also met in the final of the marquee tournament last month. Following the first Test in Rawalpindi, both sides will travel to Multan for the second game, while the third Test will be played in Karachi.

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