“About time Kohli’s form comes back” - Salman Butt backs Indian captain to overcome poor run against England

Former Pakistan batter Salman Butt has asserted that India should not be too worried about their captain Virat Kohli’s poor run. Butt also backed Kohli to overcome his wretched run in the ongoing Test series against England.

Kohli was dismissed for a first-ball duck by James Anderson in the Nottingham Test, extending his lean spell. Since the start of 2020, Kohli is averaging 23 from nine Test matches.

UPDATE: Play has been abandoned. ☹️The first #ENGvIND Test at Trent Bridge ends in a draw. We will see you at Lord's for the second Test, starting on August 12. #TeamIndia Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/TrX6JMzP9A pic.twitter.com/k9G7t1WiaB

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2021

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt said that every player goes through ups and downs and even greats like Kohli are not immune to it. He explained:

“Virat Kohli is human and every player suffers from loss of form at some point or the other in his career. Class, though, is permanent and Kohli is undoubtedly a class player. He has scored runs all over the world has 70 international hundreds. Though he has not been on top of his game in the last two years, he is still among the Top 5 in the rankings. That shows how brilliantly he has performed and what his capability is. It is about time Kohli’s form comes back in this series. It might be difficult but I feel he will make a strong comeback and play the kind of innings one relates with Kohli."

The former Pakistan captain added:

“Getting out first ball is not a big deal. It is just a matter of time. He would not be too worried. There is always a desperation among fans, who want Kohli to score runs and play match-winning knocks every time. He’s going through a bad phase but he will conquer it and the good times will be back as well.”

"We certainly felt like we were on top of the game" - Virat Kohli on Nottingham draw

It's still raining here at Trent Bridge with no sight of clear skies.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/gbmIibjvb1

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2021

Although Kohli failed to score runs in the first Test, India put up a good all-round show and went into Day 5 needing 157 runs to win with nine wickets in hand. Rain, however, had the final say and washed out the entire last day’s play.

At the post-match conference, Kohli expressed disappointment at the result and opined that India were certainly ahead. He stated:

“We were expecting rain on days three and four, but it chose to come on Day Five. It would have been enjoyable to play and watch, but it’s a shame. This is exactly what we wanted to do; start strong. On Day Five, we knew we had our chances.”

The Indian captain added:

“We certainly felt like we were on top of the game. Getting that lead was crucial, but it’s a shame we couldn’t finish day five. Getting to fifty overnight was important. It wasn’t just about survival. It was about getting the boundaries when we got the chance.”

🗣️ 🗣️: Everything we prepared for over the last one month fell in place. #TeamIndia batsman @klrahul11 talks about the takeaways from the first #ENGvIND Test.👍 pic.twitter.com/znqCYVsaUv

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2021

The second Test of the India-England series begins at Lord’s from Thursday, August 12.