'This too shall pass,' Babar Azam backs Virat Kohli
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has been struggling to rediscover his form across formats. The 33-year-old averages just 25.50 in 2022. He missed the first ODI against England owing to a groin injury and managed a 25-ball 16 in the second. Recently, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly backed out-of-form Kohli. And now, Pakistan batter Babar Azam has shown his support to the former Indian skipper.
Here is what Babar wrote on Twitter
Why does this story matter?
Kohli showed signs of a comeback in 2021, averaging over 70.00 (T20Is). However, he has played just four T20Is this year with abysmal shows on three occasions. His form has taken a beating across formats which could be a major concern for India, heading into the T20 World Cup. After Kohli's failure in the second ODI, this time Pakistan's Babar showed faith in him.
Kapil Dev gave a remark on Kohli; Rohit Sharma disagrees
A few days back, former India skipper Kapil Dev opined on benching Kohli for the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup. However, Indian captain Rohit Sharma disagreed with the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper's remarks. The former stated that the cricket experts are "watching the game from outside and do not know what is happening inside". Rohit clarified that the side has a "thought process".
Rohit continues to back Kohli
Once again, Rohit backed Kohli despite his 16-run knock. "We need to keep that in mind, the guy has scored so many runs, you look at his average, he has scored so many hundreds, he has the experience of it. No player has come who has done well whenever he has played. So a bit of slump will come," Rohit said after the match.
India's highest T20I run-scorer at number three since 2020
Kohli does not have fortunes on his side at the moment. Despite being out of form, has been India's highest run-getter at his favored number three position in T20Is. He has stacked 414 runs in 15 outings at an average of 34.50 in this period (four half-centuries). Shreyas Iyer follows Kohli, having amassed 357 runs at a strike rate in excess of 150.
When did Kohli score his last ODI ton?
Kohli's last ODI ton was against West Indies in August 2019. He had slammed 114* off 99 deliveries. He hasn't brought up a hundred in 50-over cricket since then. The Run Machine has averaged a mediocre 36.68 in this period.
Kohli still averages 53.64 in international cricket
Kohli has achieved so much thus far that he still averages 53.64 in international cricket. He has the seventh-most runs (23,709) across formats. With 70 international centuries to his name, Kohli is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (100) and Ricky Ponting (71). Among active cricketers, England's Joe Root follows Kohli with 44 tons. All Kohli needs is one knock to get back his rhythm.
