5 Indian players who got a lot of backing when they were going through a bad phase

'There is a tide in the affairs of men' is one of the most famous sayings of Brutus from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Good fortune does not last long and for some, the unpredictability of human life makes it a glorious gamble just to stay alive. One of the biggest reasons of popularity of sports in human culture is because it is at best a metaphor for the human condition.And then there is cricket - the game, as they say, of glorious uncertainty. How many promising starlets touted to be greats got washed away along the lanes of ignominy? Think of the number of promising cricketers had to end their careers as they were unceremoniously dropped when they were going through bad patches.No matter how great you are, there will be times in professional sports when you will not hit the purple patch for a period of time. The number of usual detractors who feel a sense of uncanny schadenfreude in criticising others is by no means less. But nothing matters more at that time than true support which often goes on to resurrect and script great careers. Let us look at five Indian players who received a lot of support when they were going through bad patches.

#5 Virat Kohli

Kohli is yet to recover from his slump

Virat Kohli was touted to be one of the greatest cricketers of the next generation. For some, even Tendulkar's records did not appear to be a touch too distant for Kohli. His prolific run of form had once led to predictions that there would be a time when every cricketing feat mentioned in the record books could be broken by this wonder-kid.

But whatever goes up must also come down. Kohli has been going through a rather indifferent run of form for the past one year. His bad run of form started during the Test series in England where he had problems with the moving ball outside the off-stump. But even a return to the sub-continent did not change his fortunes - his plight continued against the West Indies fast bowlers.

Kohli received a lot of flak for his performances during the 2015 World Cup. Though he scored a century against Pakistan in the first match, he did very little after that. After India crashed out to Australia in the semi-final, what followed was an insensitive tirade against Kohli and his actress-girlfriend Anushka Sharma.

But such insensitive sensationalism seemed to have awakened Kohli's fans more. A lot of fans and important people took to the social media to quickly defend Kohli and criticise the juvenile backlash. While team director Ravi Shastri was vocal in his support for Kohli, former greats like Tendulkar and Dravid were also unflinching in their admiration for him.

Even while Kohli was going through a woeful run of form in England, the fans took to twitter to show their support and #WeBelieveInViratKohli started trending on social media. With reports emerging of Kohli having practised at the MCA facilities under the watchful eyes of Tendulkar, we can only be hopeful of Kohli's quick return to form.

#4 Rohit Sharma

Rohit had a nightmarish time in 2012

Rohit Sharma's form in ODIs perhaps reached its nadir in 2012. In 13 ODIs in that year, Sharma could manage only 164 runs. During the one-day series against Sri Lanka that year, Sharma managed only 13 runs from five innings.

Though he had a fair share of detractors questioning his temperament and calling for his head, he also received tremendous support from the coaching staff and team management at that time. Sharma said, "I have got tremendous support from my team-mates and captain. Nobody will back you just like that. And believe me, I'm putting in a lot of effort to repay that faith."

And repay that faith he did. He went on to score two ODI double centuries in the next two years - the only man to have done that till date in one day cricket. In his early days, Rohit Sharma was always considered to be a fine player who did not do justice to his talent.

But he received massive support during that time and he has finally come of age. The decision to promote him to the top of the order has paid rich dividends and he has turned himself into a force to reckon with in ODIs. He is one of the players who has blossomed the most for India in ODIs in the last three years.

#3 Yuvraj Singh

Indians fans would be thankful to Dhoni and the selectors for not dropping Yuvi

Think of Yuvraj Singh and the things that immediately come to mind are his impeccable style and incredible flair. And of course, the six sixes in an over. There was a time when Yuvraj could do no wrong. Along with Dhoni, the dynamic pair batted India out of trouble on uncountable occasions.

But good things don't last forever. And in professional sports, things change very quickly. There was a prolonged period of indifferent form leading up to the 2011 World Cup. The World Cup was however, a dream come true for him as he was declared the Player of the Tournament with 362 runs and 15 wickets. But then came the cancer - a blow as harsh for Yuvraj as for the entire cricketing world.

His resilience that helped him fight cancer and come back to playing professional sport made him an exemplary figure for one and all. When Yuvraj Singh made his comeback, everyone wanted him to do well. But the flair was gone. He looked like an ordinary player scrounging for runs. And the runs stopped flowing.

During this period, Yuvraj received unthinkable support as people found it tough to accept that he was now a shadow of his former self. The T20 final against Sri Lanka was his last hope in many ways. But a scratchy knock of 11 off 21 balls earned him a lot of flak as India went on to lose the final.

But he has continued to gain support as he has attracted record money in the IPL auction for two seasons now - bought for 14 crore by the RCB in 2014 and 16 crore by DD in 2015 - despite failing to live up to the expectations. The record deals suggest that he still remains one of the most loved and marketable cricketers in India.

#2 Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly went through a lean patch in 2005

Very few players in the history of Indian cricket enjoyed the kind of frenzied and impassionate support as Ganguly did in the later part of his career. Following a poor run of form and the infamous controversy with Greg Chappell, Ganguly was dropped from the team in October 2005.

What followed was nothing short of high octane drama seldom witnessed in the history of Indian cricket. Protests after protests followed as the fans smelt injustice and foul play. Harbhajan Singh was quick to support Ganguly for which he was censored by the board. A media gag was imposed on the then current cricketers.

Several former cricketing greats like Kapil Dev were quick to jump on to the bandwagon. Dev said, "It is sad. Sourav did not deserve this. Not after his wonderful contribution to Indian cricket." Sharad Pawar admitted that he was 'shocked' at Ganguly's exclusion while several actors and politicians were vocal in their support for Ganguly. A senior politician even vowed to seek permission of the speaker to raise the issue in the parliament!

There were chaotic scenes in Kolkata as fans burnt effigies of Greg Chappell and Kiran More and even held mock funerals for them. Roads and railway tracks were blocked as a mark of protest. When South Africa played India at Eden Gardens later that year, an angry mob greeted the Indian team bus with anti-Chappell chants.

Throughout the match, the crowd booed India and celebrated the fall of Indian wickets. Every South African boundary was cheered and India's defeat was celebrated with much pomp. A visibly amused South African team later conceded that it was like playing at home for them. The Bengal southpaw, however, vindicated the frenzied support as he went on to script one of the most fairytale comebacks in the history of cricket.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin almost quit in 2007 post the World Cup

Imagine a phone-call from Viv Richards to cheer you up when you are going through bad form. Sounds like fairytale, right? But Viv Richards is the one we need to thank for having persuaded Tendulkar to play international cricket for six more years!

In the chapter titled 'Endulkar' in his autobiography Playing it My Way, Tendulkar writes how in the light of the backlash following India's ignominious early ouster from the 2007 World Cup, the mental state of the entire team reached an all-time low. Distasteful caricatures of the Indian cricketers started doing rounds on social media. Greg Chappell's grand vision had fallen apart and there were open reports of divisive factions within the team.

A young Indian team led by MS Dhoni won the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa later that year. It was almost like the much-needed catharsis for a nation in mourning. Fans started calling for the heads of senior cricketers as they believed youngsters should now take over to lead Indian cricket forward.

Tendulkar writes how saddened he was by the insult meted out to him then. As his feet stopped moving and he stopped scoring big runs, He contemplated retirement from the game.

It was then that the surprise phone call from Viv Richards changed everything. Richards spoke to Tendulkar for about forty-five minutes urging him to not give up as he believed that he had a lot of cricket left in him. Sachin decided to play on - Viv was his hero after all. When Tendulkar scored a century in Sydney at the beginning of 2008, he called up Viv Richards to thank him for his support.

And surprisingly he had words to say for his naysayers as well. Ian Chappell had taken Tendulkar apart after the 2007 World Cup by writing that he should 'have a good long look into the mirror' and think about retiring.

When Ian Chappell complimented Tendulkar in 2010 for scoring big runs again, he lambasted him saying critics like him 'change with the wind'. And he was not shy about reminding Ian Chappell the damage done to Indian cricket by his elder brother. None of the Chappell brothers had a happy relationship with Indian cricket after all.