“Kohli needs support of everyone”- Babar Azam yet again extends his support to out-of-form Virat Kohli


“Kohli needs support of everyone”- Babar Azam yet again extends his support to out-of-form Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam

Virat Kohli’s lean patch had continued in the previous matches that he played. Since Novemner 2019, he hasn’t scored a century and got out multiple times on ducks in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. When India locked-horns with England in the rescheduled fifth Test and T20Is, Kohli as expected got dismissed cheaply. In the second ODI, he scored only 16 runs.

Now, this has brought him under the limelight of criticism. Several cricketers and ex-cricketers have slammed him and criticised him and the management for playing him when better options are available for team India in the form of Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav. But India captain, when he asked about Virat Kohli, has his full support of the former India captain.

Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam, whom many consider as the probable challengers of Kohli’s record, has also backed the out-of-form Virat Kohli. He first shared a tweet and wrote, “This too shall pass. Stay strong”.

“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 at a pre-match press conference ahead of Pakistan’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

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“Virat should have responded”- Shahid Afridi

Virat Kohli
Shahid Afridi and Virat Kohli

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi lauded Babar Azam’s gesture because this will improve the relations between both the countries. But he opined that Virat Kohli should have responded to Azam’s tweet.

“Be it cricket or any other sport, it improves relations (between countries). Athletes can do a much better job at it than politicians and a number of them are doing the same,” Afridi told SAMAA TV.

“Babar has given across an incredible message. I don’t know if there has been a response from the other side. I think Virat should have responded by now. It would be a very big thing if there is a response to Babar’s tweet, but I don’t think that is going to happen,” he added.

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