New Delhi: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam's tweet for out-of-form Virat Kohli has gone viral on social media. Virat has been facing some serious criticism lately for his lean patch in international cricket for nearly three years. Virat's consistent failures have led fans and cricket pundits to question his place in India's T20 squad ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Babar, on Thursday, tweeted a picture of him and Kohli from last year's T20 World Cup, with the caption reading as "this too shall pass. Stay strong #viratkohli." Azam's tweet came shortly after the former Indian captain was dismissed for 16 runs in the second ODI against England at Lord's.
"This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli," tweeted Babar Azam which gathered over 179k likes on the microblogging app.
In a pre-match press conference before Pakistan's first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, Babar opened up on why he tweeted in favour of Virat Kohli.
"As a player myself, I know you can go through such a phase (out of form) and I also know what a player goes through in such a phase. In those times, you need support. I just tweeted thinking that it will give just some support. He is one of the best players," said Babar in a pre-match press conference before Pakistan's first Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle which will start on Saturday (July 16).
"He is playing a lot of cricket and he knows how to come out of these situations. It takes time, if you back players, it will be really good," he added.
Virat hasn't scored an international ton since 2019. After missing India vs England's 1st ODI at The Oval due to a groin strain, Kohli managed to notch up just 16 runs in the second ODI at Lord's, which India lost by 100 runs.
Kohli had scores of 1 and 11 in the second and third T20Is and made 11 and 20 in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston. The India vs England 3rd ODI at Manchester on Sunday, which is also the series decider, will provide Kohli a chance to get a big knock under his belt.
(With PTI Inputs)