An old post by Babar Azam supporting Virat Kohli during his slump in 2022 has resurfaced as fans now urge Kohli to return the favor.
Babar, Pakistan’s star cricketer, is struggling with his form. Pakistan have recently suffered a devastating Test series 0-2 loss to Bangladesh.
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This has led fans to ask Kohli, currently in London, to show his support for Babar. While some have said so genuinely, many others feel Babar's form has gone down after showing that support to Kohli.
What was Babar Azam's gesture for Virat Kohli in 2022?
Back in 2022, when Virat Kohli was going through one of the toughest phases of his career, Babar Azam took to social media to encourage him. Babar posted, "This too shall pass. Stay strong, Virat Kohli," which Kohli acknowledged with gratitude. This gesture of solidarity came at a time when Kohli was struggling with low scores during India's tour of England.
Kohli eventually bounced back, especially during the Asia Cup in 2022, where he found his form again. He scored an unbeaten knock of 82 runs off just 53 balls against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, where he played a match-winning knock.
What are Babar Azam's current struggles?
While Kohli has regained his form, Babar is now in a challenging phase. His last decent score in Test cricket was back in December 2022, and since then, he has struggled to make an impact.
Babar’s recent poor performance and his issues with captaincy have only added to the pressure. Fans believe that just as Babar supported Kohli during his tough times, a gesture from Kohli could help Babar regain his confidence and form.
Let's take a look at the some posts from X.
"This too shall pass" Babar Azam tweeted for the great Virat Kohli when he was out of form. And Virat Kohli accepts Babar Azam is too one of the greats so will he tweet for Babar Azam and show some support as Babar is passing through a bad patch.#BabarAzam #ViratKohli #PAKvBAN pic.twitter.com/CeaPd5dDxq — Hilal Sher (@hilal_sher) September 3, 2024
Virat Kohli is a senior of Babar Azam in the international cricket. Virat has a social responsibility to step forward and motivate his juniors during bad patches in their careers. We do expect Virat will stand for Babar likewise Babar did for Virat! #PAKvBAN — Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) September 2, 2024
Babar supported Kohli during Kohli’s lean patch but no such tweet from Kohli for Babar. Shameful behaviour https://t.co/l4hHKa9Ayf
— VibhØr (@VibhorDaga) September 3, 2024