Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has come out in support of Virat Kohli, whose lean patch with the bat has extended for more than two years, saying this phase would pass and he would come out stronger. Recently, legendary cricketers such as Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar have been critical of Kohli’s performance, with the former saying he should be dropped from the side and the latter indicating that some senior players are getting preferential treatment by being allowed to pick and choose which series they want to play.

While Kohli continues to dish out one lacklustre performance after another, making just 16 runs in the second ODI against England on Thursday, which India lost by 100 runs at Lord’s after he missed the first game with a groin injury, Babar Azam took to social media to back one of India’s most successful former captains.

The right-handed Kohli has now gone 77 consecutive international innings without reaching three figures, after scores of 1 and 11 in the T20I series against England and failures in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston.

India’s T20I squad to take on the West Indies doesn’t have Kohli, with Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal rested for the tour. With a T20 World Cup around the corner in Australia and World Test Championship points needed to keep up in a race for next year’s final, Kohli’s place in the team has been debated by fans and former legends, though his Pakistani counterpart has extended his support via social media. Babar Azam posted an image of him walking with Kohli on Twitter and wrote, “This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli.”

Source: PTI