"He is still a leader of this team"- 3 times Rohit Sharma defended Virat Kohli's form

Despite the rivalry between their respective fan clubs, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have always had mutual respect for each other.

The two have arguably been the biggest stars in Indian cricket over the past decade. Naturally, this has brought up occasional rumors about rifts or differences in opinion.

However, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have always defended each other when questions are asked about their performance and form. Kohli famously questioned a reporter for having doubts about Sharma's place in the Indian team during last year's T20 World Cup.

Things have changed since then, however, as it is now India's former captain who is under the scanner due to his inconsistent performances. Many feel that with better options probably available, the selectors might want to look beyond Kohli.

However, captain Rohit Sharma has often come out in support of his mate and has maintained that Kohli is important to the Men in Blue. Here are three such occasions:

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#3 "Virat Kohli needs confidence? (laughs)"

India white-washed the West Indies in the ODI series played at home earlier this year. However, Virat Kohli's performance was not the greatest by his standards. The 33-year-old scored just 26 runs in three games.

Rohit Sharma was asked a question in his post-match press conference regarding whether Kohli needed 'confidence' after an extended barren run. He responded:

“Virat Kohli ko confidence ki zaroorat hai? Kya baat kar rahe ho yaar. Does Virat Kohli need more confidence? (laughs). If Kohli is in need of confidence, then who in the team is confident? I know he has not scored a hundred for long.”

Rohit Sharma acknowledged that Kohli hadn't scored a century in a long time. However, he drew the focus to the former skipper's half-centuries in the three-match ODI series against South Africa just before the West Indies ODIs.

Sharma claimed that the team management had full faith in Kohli's ability, and added:

“It is a different matter that he did not get a hundred, but in the series against South Africa, he hit two half-centuries in three games. I don't think there is anything wrong. He doesn't need any extra confidence. He is absolutely fine. The team management is not at all worried about his form.”

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#2 "He is still a leader of the team"

Virat Kohli's rough patch of form continued as he scored 11 and 20 in either innings of the one-off Test against England this month. He, along with a few other senior players, were rested for the first T20I that was to be played on July 7.

While addressing the media ahead of the T20I series, captain Rohit Sharma once again stressed Kohli's importance to the Indian side. He opined that the 33-year-old is still a part of the leadership group and said:

"To have an average of 50+ in T20 format is crazy. It's unreal. With the experience that he has, he has batted and built India out. His kind of batsmanship is required. And he is still a leader of this team."

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#1 "Everyone goes through ups and downs, quality doesn't get affected"

Virat Kohli scored just 12 runs combined in the second and third T20Is against England this month. Almost immediately, questions were raised about why the former Indian captain was being preferred ahead of the in-form Deepak Hooda.

Former Indian World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev spoke to a news channel, quoted by PTI, and also had a similar opinion on Kohli's T20I future. He said:

"If World No. 2 Test bowler Ashwin can be dropped from the Test side, then your No. 1 batter can also be dropped. If he (Virat) is not performing, you cannot continue to keep these boys (youngsters like Deepak Hooda) out."

The latest instance of Rohit Sharma taking a stand for Virat Kohli came on Sunday (July 10) after India completed a 2-1 series win over England. When the Indian captain was told about Kapil Dev's comments, he politely disagreed and explained that the Indian team backs Kohli's quality. He said:

"He (Kapil) is watching the game from the outside and does not know what is happening inside. We have our thought processes. We build our team, and behind this there is a lot of thinking. If you talk about form, then everyone goes through ups and downs. The player's quality does not get affected."

Sharma added:

"When a player is doing well for so many years, then one or two bad series does not make him a bad player. We should not overlook his past performances. We, who are in the team, know the importance of the player."

He concluded:

"They (former players) have got all the right to talk about it, but it does not matter for us too much."

Virat Kohli has undoubtedly struggled for some time now. However, players of his quality are often just one knock away from recovering their touch and he certainly seems to have his skipper's backing.