Former India skipper Virat Kohli is enduring an extended lean patch with the bat across formats for a while now. After a dismal IPL 2022 campaign for RCB, where he scored only 341 runs in 16 games at an average of 22.73 and a strike rate of 115.98, the right-hander is now struggling for runs in the ongoing England tour.

Kohli failed to make a mark in the Edgbaston Test, scoring 11 and 20 across the two innings while he registered scores of 1 and 11 in the T20I series.

The veteran batter was unable to play the first ODI due to a groin injury, and made only 16 runs on his comeback in the second ODI at Lord’s on Thursday (July 14).

See Also: Virender Sehwag retracts prediction for Virat Kohli after another failure during 2nd ODI

Amid his struggles, questions are being raised over Kohli’s place in the side. While many are of the opinion that Virat should be dropped from the team, some of them want him to take a break from the game.

However, the Indian team management is continuously backing the senior batter. After his recent failure in the second ODI against England, skipper Rohit Sharma once again defended Virat Kohli.

During the post-match press conference, a journalist asked Rohit about Kohli's form and the Indian captain interrupted him even before he completed the question.

"Virat Kohli ke baare mein kaafi charcha ho rahi hai (A lot is being talked about Virat Kohli)…," asked the reporter before Rohit stopped him and said: "Kyu ho rahi hai? I do not get it. He has played so many matches. He is playing from so many years. He is such a great batter so he does not need reassurance. I talked about this in my last press conference too, form goes up and down, that is part and parcel of any cricketer's career. So, a player like him, who has played for so many years, who has made so many runs, who has won so many matches, for him, he only needs one or two good innings (to bounce back)."

"That is my thinking and I am sure all those who follow cricket will think similarly. We do have chats about about this topic, but we should also understand and think when we talk about such things. We have seen performance of all players goes up and down, but the quality of the player never gets bad. That we all should keep in mind. That is very important. Yaar, matlab, bande ne itne run banaya hain (he has scored so many runs), check his average, how many hundreds he has made, he has experience of doing that. There is a slump in every player's life, there is no player who has performed well in every match they have played. Even in the personal life it (slump) comes," he added.

In the second ODI, India suffered a 100-run thrashing at the hands of England. Chasing 247 to win, the visitors’ innings folded for a paltry 146 in 38.5 overs. It was a listless batting display as no one even managed to cross the 30-run mark. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja were the joint top-scorer with 29 runs each. Reece Topley returned with the career-best ODI figures of 6/24 for England.

The three-match series is now level at 1-1 and the decider will be played at Old Trafford on Sunday (July 17).