GALLE 16 July (Online): Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Friday said India\u2019s Virat Kohli remains one of the best players in world cricket despite his prolonged slump and should get all the support he needs to regain his batting form.<\/p>\n
Kohli, who has been rested for the upcoming One day International and Twenty20 series in West Indies, has not hit a century since 2019 and has been under fire for his extended lean patch, with questions being raised over his future.<\/p>\n
But Babar on Thursday tweeted a picture of the two sporting rivals captioned \u201cThis too shall pass. Stay Strong\u201d, which went viral as fans praised the Pakistan batsman for backing the former India captain.
\n\u201cAs a player (tough) times can fall on you as well,\u201d Babar said ahead of his side\u2019s opening Test in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how a player goes through such times and how he comes out of it. So he needs support in those times and as a player I tweeted to support him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Babar, who is often compared to Kohli for his prolific run-scoring, added: \u201cHe is one of the best players and he knows how to come out this. It takes time but we should back him.\u201d Former cricketers including Kapil Dev have said Kohli should be dropped and youngsters given a chance to prove their worth in a competitive Indian team. India captain Rohit Sharma, however, has backed his senior batsman to bounce back soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been such a great batsman, he doesn\u2019t need reassurances,\u201d Rohit said after his team\u2019s ODI loss to England on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cForm does go up and down, it\u2019s part (and) parcel of a player\u2019s life. It\u2019s just a matter of one or two innings\u201d for Kohli, he added.<\/p>\n
Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said Kohli \u201chas got to find his way\u201d to score runs again.<\/p>\n
Many former players, including Ashish Nehra, believe the star batsman should take a prolonged break to get his batting mojo back.<\/p>\n
Kohli, who has hit 27 centuries in 102 Tests since making his debut in 2011, has endured a torrid 12 months that also saw him replaced as India\u2019s captain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GALLE 16 July (Online): Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Friday said India\u2019s Virat Kohli remains one of the best players in world cricket despite his prolonged slump and should get all the support he needs to regain his batting form. Kohli, who has been rested […]<\/p>\n
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