"Class Act": Former England Captain Lauds Babar Azam For Tweet Supporting Virat Kohli

15.07.2022 - 23:57 sports.ndtv.com

Former England captain Michael Vaughan joined a growing chorus of cricketers past and present and fans, who are appreciating Pakistan captain Babar Azam for his great gesture towards former India captain Virat Kohli.

Late on Thursday night Babar tweeted, "This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli" after the former India captain failed to get a big score yet again, as he was dismissed for 16 in the second ODI against England at Lord's as India succumbed to a 100-run loss.

Vaughan, a great admirer of Babar's cricket, retweeted Babar tweet with the words, "Class act Babar." Class act Babar ???? https://t.co/GfaAGXwTIu Babar was asked about the tweet during a pre-match press conference ahead of Pakistan's first Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle, which begins on Saturday. "As a player myself, I know you can go through such a phase (out of form) and I also know what a player goes through in such a phase.

In those times, you need support. I just tweeted thinking that it will give just some support. He is one of the best players," Babar said during a press conference. "He is playing a lot of cricket and he knows how to come out of these situations.

cricket India Cricket Team Michael Vaughan Jos Buttler Virat Kohli Babar Azam India Sri Lanka Pakistan

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has praised Pakistan captain Babar Azam for his batting. Ponting said that Babar has "got better and better" in the last couple of years. While lauding Babar and his progress in the batting department, Ponting also said that Pakistan's chances in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia will be directly dependent on the right-handed batter's performance. He feels that the side cannot win the mega event in case Babar fails to perform with the bat.

"Sarfaraz Ahmed Was An Active Captain Whereas Babar Azam...": Pakistan Star Compares The Two

Babar Azam's career graph is on the rise. He is currently the world No. 1 batter in ODIs and T20I in ICC rankings. In Tests, he is ranked No. 4. "As a player it's a dream to become the No. 1 in all formats and, for that, you have to focus and put in hard work. It's not like if you are the top player in one or two formats, you go easy," the official website of ICC quoted Babar as saying recently. "If you are to become No.1 in all three, you have to keep yourself fit and on track. There is back-to-back cricket and the gap is less. For that, you need to be extra fit. It's something I am preparing for. It's going well in white-ball and hopefully, I will be able to do well in Tests too," he added.

"Ready To Do Anything For The Team": Virat Kohli Eyes Asia Cup, T20 World Cup

Star batter Virat Kohli is currently not part of the Indian for the ongoing white-ball series against West Indies. Kohli, who is struggling with the bat, will be back with the team for the upcoming Asia Cup in late August. The tournament will be held in UAE, and the format has again been changed to the T20s. While Kohli's recent run form has raised questions over his place in the Indian team, the former India captain said that he is ready to do anything to help the team win Asia Cup as well as T20 World Cup titles.

Babar Azam Becomes Fastest Pakistan Batter To Achieve This Milestone In International Cricket

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been in fine form this year, scoring runs across all formats. On the second day of the ongoing 1st Test against Sri Lanka, Babar completed 10,000 international runs and, in the process, he became the fastest Pakistan batter to achieve this particular milestone. Babar took just 228 innings to bring up 10,000 international runs, 20 fewer innings than the second-placed Javed Miandad.

People can only dream about what you've done in cricket: Kevin Pietersen backs Virat Kohli

Kevin Pietersen on Saturday threw his weight behind the out-of-form Virat Kohli, saying that he should be proud as "people can only dream about" what he has achieved. The former Indian skipper is enduring a wretched run with the bat and has failed to score a century since November 2019. "You go big guy! People can only dream about what you've done in cricket. And they're some of the best players that have played the game," Pietersen wrote in a social media post.

Virat Kohli replies to Babar Azam's 'stay strong' tweet: 'Keep shining and rising; wish you all the best'

Virat Kohli was dismissed for 16 in the second ODI against England at Lord's, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam put out a tweet with a picture of him and Kohli from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup last year, with the caption reading as "this too shall pass. Stay strong #viratkohli." Soon after the tweet was released, many cricket fans from around the world started praising Babar for supporting Kohli. Now, on Saturday, Kohli replied to Babar's post, thanking him for his words of support. "Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best (clap emoji)," read Kohli's reply on Twitter.