“This too shall pass,” Babar Azam reflects on message for Virat Kohli
Babar's tweet came after India's ODI match against England where Kohli scored 16 runs, which India would lose by 100 runs.
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Babar Azam and Virat Kohli
When former India skipper Virat Kohli was going through an extended lean patch, his rival cricketer, that is Pakistan skipper Babar Azam showed his support through a now-famous message on Twitter. Babar’s tweet came after India’s ODI match against England where Kohli scored 16 runs, which India would lose by 100 runs.
Kohli, who used to score centuries on a frequent basis, was dealing with a drought for more than three years. His last century, at that time, came against Bangladesh (a knock of 136 runs) in 2019. From then to the time of the ODI innings against England, Kohli had scored a paltry 806 ODI runs at an average of 36.68.
Amidst criticism and expert tips on how he can find his lost form, Babar Azam wrote on Twitter, “This too shall pass. Stay strong” which had gone instantly viral. And recently, the Pakistan skipper was asked about his mindset when he tweeted that.
“As a sportsperson, anyone can go through such a time,” Babar said in an interview with ICC Digital Insider Zainab Abbas when asked about his message to Kohli. “At that time I thought maybe if I tweet, it might give someone help and confidence. See, as a player, you try to back every sportsman in a difficult time.
“It is difficult times when you get to know what you are thinking about others. At that time, I thought I should have done that and maybe something positive will come out of it. Something which can be a plus point,” Babar added.
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Virat Kohli returned to form and played a memorable knock against Pakistan
Following his viral tweet, some former cricketers slammed Virat Kohli for not replying to Babar’s message. But Kohli did acknowledge it by writing: “Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best.”
That year, after a long break, Kohli played in the 2022 Asia Cup, and during India’s last match in the tournament against Afghanistan in September, the talismanic batsman made headlines again, but this time, for his century knock of 122*. It was also his maiden T20I hundred.
His best innings also came that year against Babar Azam and co. in both of the teams’ campaign opener in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup. Kohli scored that memorable 82* at the MCG in the classic last-over drama which India won.
Since his return to form in the Asia Cup, the 34-year-old has slammed three ODI hundreds. He is currently with the Test team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, where India won the first Test by an innings and 132 runs. Kohli is yet to play a scintillating Test knock.
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Gouri Das
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