'This too shall pass': Babar Azam asks out-of-form Virat Kohli to 'stay strong'; wins hearts

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.

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: