Pakistan captain Babar Azam has come out in support of fellow generational talent Virat Kohli after the latter's dip in form.
Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli's lean patch continued on Thursday when the batter scored just 16 runs in the second ODI against England at Lord's. The iconic cricketer's dismal run with the bat in India's 100-run loss yesterday meant this was the 77th consecutive international game that the right-hander failed to reach three figures.
India's T20I squad to take on the West Indies is also missing Kohli's name, with Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal rested for the same tour.
Also read: Why Ashish Nehra feels that Virat Kohli deserves 'extra chances'?
While cricket fans and pundits have raised concern over the legendary batter's prolonged out-of-form patch, one person who has come out in support is none other than Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.
The Pakistan icon took to Twitter to send a heartfelt message to the former Indian captain, who will hope to strike form before the T20 World Cup.
"This too shall pass. Stay Strong," wrote Babar Azam, along with a photograph of the two from last year's T20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan.
This too shall pass. Stay strong. pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt
— Babar Azam (@babarazam258)Few players have the same understanding of the challenges of maintaining world-class form as Pakistan's captain, who is now experiencing a golden period.
Babar is ranked first in the MRF Tyres ICC batting rankings for both ODI and T20I matches, as well as fourth in Test cricket, after scoring international centuries in recent series against Australia and the West Indies as well as a T20I half-century against Australia in Lahore last month.
Earlier in the week, Kohli also found support from captain Rohit Sharma, who stood up for his teammate ahead of the England ODIs.
"When someone is scoring consistently for so long, we can't overlook his contribution if he is not scoring in one or two series or in one or two years.
"We know the importance of Virat Kohli. The experts have got all the right to talk about it but for us these things don't matter," he added.
Also read: 'Virat Kohli has got to find his way and become successful' - Sourav Ganguly
Babar's gesture has won the hearts of the cricketing fraternity, with several people lauding the Pakistan skipper's sportsmanship. Here's a look at some of the reactions:
What a beautiful gesture and show of support by for https://t.co/adoeJaRnM4
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial)Wonderful sportsmanship
At the same time I wonder what would have happened if Kohli has said the same to the Pakistan player! https://t.co/uCR47PPk5m
Class recognizes class. https://t.co/9Yjg4vFp8w
— Abhishek Baxi (@baxiabhishek)Great gesture. https://t.co/uVpH9hQydR
— aniruddha dhar (@Dhar_ani)Game Recognize Game 🤝 https://t.co/nFAchVZ1Vp
— Aditya Maheshwari (@aditya7696)Bhai ne dil ♥ jeet liya!!
From today, no any trolling to him. 😘😘😘 https://t.co/FcSzOlOuxy
- Hallmark of a great in the making! Best wishes Kohli https://t.co/Ei2NYgaZ5y
— Asif Khan (@mak_asif)So sweet. So beautiful. Love this. https://t.co/LlQnMuXJZS
— Kaushik Raj (@kaushikrj6)People who are criticising babar for posting this just dont know how important Kohli is for the game of cricket .And this just shows babars class of the field too. People should be happy to see the two goats of the game together and backing each other up. Gentlemens game. https://t.co/LhLAkYvvVk
— Hassan Salman (@hassansalman107)Wow two Asian giants.. best of luck https://t.co/RMoyHjVZMM
— Waseem Abbasi (@Wabbasi007)Two asian Goat,,🐐🥀❤️💯 https://t.co/tNOGrSPKkv pic.twitter.com/5KSb6xAbbZ
— Malik Alamgir (@MalikAlamgir7)Best wishes for VIRAT KOHLI, he was truly a GOAT and we Pakistani’s really want him to peak again and retire on a high note 🙌♥️ https://t.co/l81xoSjmzx
— Ali (@aliharoon1236)Great gesture from , well done since the image is tweeted by you , the watermark in this pic.. https://t.co/xfQEl8asAp
— Abhishek Chakraborty 🇮🇳🏏 (@abhi541988)GOAT Recognizes GOAT 🐐
GAME Recognizes GAME 🏏
THAT'S SOME REAL HUMBLENESS KING 👑🙌 https://t.co/dB0Qvto7Yw pic.twitter.com/nqY0JFWI3z
Babar you are a hero https://t.co/5o6ItlpXd4
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73)Greatness recognizes greatness https://t.co/D3WMXoEoBw
— Parth MN (@parthpunter)Man Wins hearts of millions of Cheeku's Fans !!
Respect ✓🥰❤️https://t.co/6CCYxT829J