Kohli will be playing his 100th T20I on Sunday (28th August).
Former cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Shahid Afridi backed Indian star Virat Kohli to come out of the bad phase and do good for his team in the Asia Cup 2022.
India’s match against Pakistan on Sunday (28th August) in Dubai will mark Kohli’s return to cricket after a short break. The former Indian skipper, who has been going through a tough phase with the bat, was rested after the tour of England.
India's Asia Cup opener will also be his 100th T20I game. Despite not being in form, the energy that he brings to the side is unmatchable and the kind of preparation he does before the game is one to applaud.
Of late talks related to his form have increased. Having scored his last hundred in November 2019 in a Test match against Bangladesh, the right-hander has looked completely out of sorts in recent times and has failed to get going.
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The recent England tour was a horrendous tour for him as he miserably failed in all the games, including the Edgbaston Test. With him taking a short break, many have backed the former Indian skipper to come out good in the tournament.
His first match after his time off will be a high-pressure game as India will take on Pakistan in their first encounter of the Asia Cup and it’s fair to say that Kohli, over the years, has been exceptional in high-pressure games and it is expected that he’ll continue his streak and regain his form.
Speaking in a video posted on Sports’ Tak YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh said that pressure was quite evident on Kohli’s face in the past few years but the right-hander is now looking relaxed and he has no doubt that the former Indian skipper will rise again.
“As a player, it is a big thing to lead the side. Virat Kohli has scored many runs, but in the past few years, the pressure was evident on his face. He has not scored centuries, the captaincy has been taken away from him, so the pressure is slightly off. He is also looking very relaxed, he met me and he just wanted to take his team through.
“He has the same routines, before going to practice, he goes to the gym for 1-2 hours. If you talk about any big player, each one of them has gone through bad patches in their career. I do not doubt that Virat Kohli will rise again,” Harbhajan Singh said.
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Talking about the same, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi said that he always has been a fan of Kohli and said that the 33-year-old has to come out of this bad patch by himself.
“I have always been a fan of Virat Kohli because he has always played attacking cricket. He has always played positive cricket, the expectations were high from him, so when a bad patch comes, you have to come out of it yourself.
"So whatever is your strength, you should not shy away from it. If you go away from it, you bad patch goes for a longer period. He is a big name, Virat has to come out of this bad patch on his own," Shahid Afridi said.
Kohli’s form would be crucial for Team India as they look like a completely different side with the right-hander in form. If he returns to form, it’ll be a positive for the side with T20 World Cup 2022 also around the corner.