Keep shining and rising, Virat Kohli responds to Babar Azam’s supportive tweet with heartfelt message

Gone are the days when Indian and Pakistani cricketers would be filled with enmity towards each other. With the advent of social media and several international T20 leagues, the spirit of sportsmanship has prevailed in cricket like never before. While on-the-field encounters tend to be as tense as ever, as was evident in the recent battle between Jonny Bairstow and Virat Kohli at the Edgbaston Test, off-the-field respect has grown leaps and bounds in the game. An epitome of the same is the friendship shared by Babar Azam and Kohli.

After Virat Kohli failed to get runs in the second ODI versus England at Lord’s, the Pakistani skipper posted on his Twitter account in support of his counterpart. The tweet was a wholesome photo of the two standing together, with a simple yet powerful message of “This too shall pass.”

The caption was referencing the slump that Virat Kohli has been facing for the past few years. The 33-year-old has not registered a triple-digit score in any international match since 2019 and has seen his Test average drop below 50 after a long stay at the top. 

Nevertheless, Kohli has remained unfazed in the face of criticism, time and again reinforcing faith in his own abilities in the media. Today, he tweeted a powerful quote about having a positive perspective, yet again sending a message to the world. However, it is his latest tweet that is doing the news rounds as of now, which is a heartfelt response to Babar Azam’s previous message.

The former Indian skipper wrote a simple thank you, sending his best wishes to Azam and asking him to keep “shining and rising.” The Pakistan top-order batter of late has been in tremendous form and is placed on top of the ICC ranking charts in both ODIs and T20Is.

The two men are likely to encounter next at the ICC World T20 in Australia in October, where Pakistan and India are scheduled to play their opening game of the marquee event.