Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara has backed Indian stalwart Virat Kohli to do well in the Champions Trophy 2025 match against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday (February 23).

Kohli comes into the contest not in the best of forms as he has scored just one fifty in his last 6 ODI innings. The star batter once again got out to a leg-spinner during India’s campaign opener against Bangladesh on February 20.

In an interview with CNN-News18, Pujara suggested that Kohli has set high standards for himself and could be putting too much pressure on himself to score big runs.

“I feel someone like Virat Kohli who has scored so many runs across the formats, when he’s going through a lean patch when he’s not scoring as good as he likes to, forget about the rest of the world because everyone does talk whenever he doesn’t score. But he has set the high standards for himself. When he is not able to live up to those scores, that’s when he starts putting too much pressure on himself," Pujara said.

“I think someone like him, he knows his game really well. But there are times when you go through a rough patch and that’s when you start doubting yourself a little bit that I expect him to score 100. But someone like him, even if he scores a fifty, you know, it always helps the team and he understands that," he added.

Pujara remains positive about Kohli’s return to form after what he has seen from the latter in recent ODIs against England.

“We saw against England in the ODIs where he got 50 and there are times where he might have been disappointed by those 50s because he’s someone who always posts big runs, especially in the ODI format. He is known to get those hundreds. And if he’s not able to get that, then he might be doubting himself or he might be putting himself under pressure that I need to score more," Pujara stated.

He also expressed confidence in Kohli’s ability to deliver in the big occasions. “But someone like him, you know, he, he knows his game really, really well, but he needs to stay relaxed and his role is very important," Pujara remarked.

Virat Kohli's last ODI hundred came in the semi-final of the 2023 World Cup against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.