The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma has once again come in defense of his predecessor, Virat Kohli, saying that a player like him doesn’t need any reassurance after the star batter’s recent failure at Lord’s. Kohli has been witnessing a rough patch in international cricket and has failed to make much of an impact in the ongoing tour of England. The 33-year-old failed to do much in the rescheduled Test and T20I series.

Kohli failed to take part in the first match of the ODI series due to an injury and his return to the playing lineup ended on a sour note on Thursday. The former Indian skipper was dismissed for just 16 runs in 25 balls and India eventually lost the game by 100 runs as Reece Topley put in a Man Of The Match performance and bagged six wickets for just 24 runs. At the post-match media briefing, Sharma was asked if Kohli needed the support of the team during this difficult phase. 

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Rohit Sharma elaborated, “He [Kohli] has played so many matches. He is playing from so many years. He is such a great batsman, so he does not need reassurance. I pointed this in my last press conference, too: form goes up and down, that is part and parcel of any cricketer’s career.” 

Rohit was yet again asked on Virat. And I am glad he said what he has. Good to see the captain back his top man. pic.twitter.com/OBtd4JHOFE

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) July 15, 2022

He further added, “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.”

While the Indian skipper acknowledged that Kohli is witnessing a rough patch in his career, Sharma said that the star batter has the backing of the team management.

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Rohit Sharam elaborated, “We do have chats 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 worse. That we all should keep in mind. That is very important. He has made so many runs, check his average, how many hundreds he has made, he has (vast) experience of doing that. There is a slump in every player’s life. Even in the personal life it comes.”