ENG vs IND | Rohit Sharma backs under-fire Virat Kohli yet again

An on-drive, off-drive and a nonchalant cover driver, it seemed that Virat Kohli was poised to end his lean patch. However, his inning in the second ODI against England ended prematurely, as it has been the case over the past couple of months.

The former Indian skipper walked back to the pavilion, scoring just 16 runs. Kohli was criticised far more than his teammates after India fell short by 100 runs in a 246-run chase at Lord's. 

Captain Rohit Sharma defended the ex-Indian skipper yet again in the post-match press conference. The 35-year-old stressed that ups and downs are part and parcel of a player's life. 

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He pointed to Kohli's past achievements across all formats, stating that a player of his calibre and quality does not need any kind of reassurance. 

"He [Kohli] has played so many matches. He is playing for so many years. He is such a great batsman so he does not need reassurance. I pointed to this in my last press conference, too: form goes up and down, that is part and parcel of any cricketer's career," the Indian skipper stated in the press conference. 

Echoing Jos Buttler's sentiments, Rohit believes Kohli is due for a big knock, perhaps as early as the third ODI on Sunday.

"So a player like him, who has played for so many years, who has made so many runs, who has won so many matches, 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," said Rohit.

Kohli has not scored an international century in almost three years, which is quite shocking for a player who used to score hundreds for fun.

‘The Hitman’ asserted that despite the 'slump talks', the team management retains faith in Virat. The Indian skipper stated that a player's form could dip for a while, but the quality never goes away. 

"We do have chats about this topic, but we should also understand and think when we talk about such things. We have seen that the 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," Rohit concluded backing Kohli again.

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