While there are criticisms and doubts raised on Virat Kohli's current form, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has supported Kohli to come out of his prolonged rough patch. According to him, the former India captain needs support from all quarters to bounce back.
Babar extended his full support to off-coloured Kohli.
"I just feel that in the present situation Kohli needs support and to be backed. I tweeted wishing him the best because I know how a player feels when he is going through this period and he needs the support of everyone," Babar said.
Babar was asked about Kohli in the media interaction following his late-night tweet in support of Kohli. "This too shall pass. Stay strong."
The 27-year-old's support for Kohli came after current Indian captain Rohit Sharma backed the 33-year-old.
"For someone who has won so many matches for India, you need one or two innings to bounce back. That's what I feel and I am sure all those who follow cricket will think similarly," Rohit had said.
Kohli has managed to score only 158 runs from seven ODI games so far this year with only two fifties to his name. However, he remains in the third position in the ICC ODI rankings behind Pakistan's Babar and Imam ul Haq.
Kohli, who is lately struggling to score runs, is yet to hit a hundred in close to three years. Whether he will be able to come back stronger in the 3rd and final ODI against England on Sunday, is something to look out for.
Squads for 3rd ODI -
Team India: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Team England: Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Jos Buttler, Philip Salt, Matthew Parkinson, Reece Topley, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Craig Overton, Jonny Bairstow, Brydon Carse
(Inputs from PTI)
