Pakistan captain Babar Azam has disclosed the reason for a strong message he gave to Virat Kohli last year. The great hitter stunned the cricketing world with a “This too shall pass” tweet directed at a competitor. It is typical for many former Pakistani athletes to support Indian athletes. However, nobody had anticipated a player like Babar to tweet in this manner.
In July 2022, when Kohli wasn’t at his best, Babar tweeted the message. He was dismissed for just 16 runs the day before in an ODI at the Lord’s Cricket Ground against England, which the hosts won by a score of 100 runs.
The former India skipper hadn’t reached a century since his 136-run performance against Bangladesh in 2019 at the moment. He had 806 ODI runs at an average of 36.68 from his previous 100. He was unable to even manage some respectable runs in T20 cricket.
Babar posted on Twitter in support of Kohli, saying, “This too shall pass. Stay strong.” Along with the post, he included a photo of the two of them. Kohli responded, “Thank you. Keep shining and rise. Wish you all the best.”
“At that time I thought maybe if I tweet it might give someone help and confidence” – Babar Azam On Virat Kohli
The Pakistani captain admitted that his ultimate goal was for his on-field competitor to triumph in an interview with ICC Digital Insider’s Zainab Abbas. He added that he wrote the statement with the hope that it will inspire someone to make a comeback. He continued by saying that athletes should support one another when things get tough.
“At that time I thought maybe if I tweet it might give someone help and confidence. See, as a player, you try to back every sportsman in a difficult time,” he told ICC.
“It is in difficult times when you get to know what you are thinking about others. At that time, I thought I should have done that and maybe something positive will come out of it. Something which can be a plus point.,” he added.
At the ICC T20 World Cup 2022’s Super Four match against Afghanistan in September, Kohli hit 122* to quickly regain his form. Additionally, he scored an incredible 82 runs against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). His unbeaten performance enabled India to defeat the Babar-led team in a remarkable victory.
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