Team India had their first training session on Wednesday after landing in the United Arab Emirates for the Asia Cup 2022. India’s batting stalwart, Virat Kohli also broke a sweat in the nets, taking on the bowlers in a grueling session. Kohli is making a comeback to competitive cricket after being rested for the side’s previous two limited-overs tours to West Indies and Zimbabwe.
The 33-year-old has been witnessing a rough patch with the bat; in his six international batting outings since the IPL, Virat Kohli has failed to cross the 20-run mark. However, fans are optimistic about him getting his form back after the break. Kohli is expected to return to the side for the blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday (August 28), which kickstarts India’s campaign in Asia Cup.
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Ahead of the game, the players from both sides met each other on the sidelines of their respective training sessions in Dubai; Virat Kohli met Pakistan captain Babar Azam and also proceeded to meet the men in green’s batting coach and cricketing great Mohammad Yousuf. The two had a brief chart before eventually parting ways.
Here is the video of the incident:
The Afghanistan cricketers were also present at the ICC practice ground. Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammad Nabi shared a warm hug. During this while, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam were seen exchanging greetings. Babar was over the moon after seeing the Delhi-born Virat.
Hello DUBAI 🇦🇪
Hugs, smiles and warm-ups as we begin prep for #AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCup | #TeamIndia 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/bVo2TWa1sz
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 24, 2022
Earlier this year, Mohammad Yousuf had come in support of Kohli amid his poor patch, insisting that every cricketer goes through struggles in their career. He also compared Kohli to batting great Sachin Tendulkar.
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During a chat on ARY news, Mohammad Yusuf had said, “Every player goes through a lean patch and Virat is no different. However, he has been sensational in the last 10 years and has dominated cricket like Sachin Tendulkar. Scoring 70 centuries is not as easy task. For me, he is the number one player in the last 10 years.”
India is placed in Group A of the Asia Cup which also includes Hong Kong, who qualified for the continental tournament on Wednesday after defeating the United Arab Emirates in their final match of the qualifying round. The tournament will be commencing on August 27 with Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan.
