Sehwag confident of Kohli getting out of lean patch

Mumbai: Unconcerned by the indifferent form exhibited recently by India captain Virat Kohli, former swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag said today that a player of his calibre knew how to get out of the rut.

"It (bad patch) happens with every player. Even if you look at the great Sachin Tendulkar, he hasn't played the same (way) every year. Even your (media) questions keep changing time to time. When time changes, form also changes. The hallmark of a good player is who can come out of bad form and Virat knows very well how to come back into good form," said Sehwag on Friday.

Sehwag was asked about Kohli's lean patch while leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League at a meet and greet session organised by 92.7 BIG FM here.

Kohli, who has notched up 250 runs from nine games in  the IPL this season at a modest average of 27-plus with 64 being his highest score, will lead India in the Champions Trophy tournament which is scheduled to start in England on June 1.

Sehwag did not agree with the view that the Indian players could be a bit jaded going into the 50-over Champions Trophy after taking part in the T20 League.

"No, I don’t think so," he quipped.

Sehwag, who is the mentor of Kings XI Punjab, felt that since his side’s play-off chances in the IPL depended on other teams, it was crucial for Kings XI to maintain a good run-rate.

"Our qualification depends on other teams.  If (Rising) Pune (Supergiant) lose and (Sunrisers) Hyderabad lose, or KKR (Kolkata Night Riders) lose then we have a chance to qualify. We have to maintain the run-rate and only then we can qualify," he said.

Kings XI, who defeated Mumbai Indians in a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday by seven runs to keep their qualification hopes alive, have a final round-robin game in hand against the Rising Supergiant in their home den at Pune on May 14.