Babar Azam has been praised for extending his support to Virat Kohli after the latter’s poor run of form continued in the second England-India ODI at Lord’s on Thursday.

The former India skipper was out for 16 off 25 deliveries, and has now gone 965 days without an international hundred. Since the start of 2020, the former India skipper averages 42.18 in T20 Internationals, 37.78 in ODIs and a little over 27 in Test matches. His high score across all formats has been 89 in this period, with 21 fifties in 72 innings in all forms of international cricket.

Kohli, who missed the first ODI against England due to a groin injury, started off his innings with a punch down the ground for a boundary in the second ODI and hit two more fours in the next three balls off Reece Topley. His second boundary was slapped through mid-on for another straight drive, while the next four was hit in the gap through extra cover. However, he was dismissed soon after, nicking to the keeper as he chased a ball going away from the body.

Chasing 247 for a series win, India were all out for 146.

Moments after the game ended, Babar took to social media, coming out in support of Kohli, sharing a picture of the two players from the T20 World Cup last year along with a caption that read, “This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli.”

This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt

— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) July 14, 2022

Babar later explained the reason for his tweet during a press conference ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka on July 16. “As a player, you can go through times like these. In such times, you need support. He’s one of the best players there is, and he knows how to get out of this. It might take a bit of time, and the more we back him, the better.”

The six-word tweet went viral soon after, with former cricketers and experts quick to praise Babar for his gesture.

Class act Babar 👏 https://t.co/GfaAGXwTIu

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 15, 2022

Very very sporting by @babarazam258 on Virat Kohli 👌👌👌👌 https://t.co/2TFqpqUHrG

— Vijay Lokapally 🇮🇳 (@vijaylokapally) July 15, 2022

Best tweet this cricket season👇 Trollish fans of Babar & Virat are forever pitching the two against each other. Creating ugly virtual dogfights. And here is @babarazam258, among the top batsmen in world cricket today, being a GRACIOUS sportsman. This is what sport is all about! https://t.co/aI8a9pt2hj

— Sohini M. (@Mittermaniac) July 15, 2022

Babar Azam is pure class. With one tweet he has won many hearts and has broken barriers built by history, well done young man #cricket #CricketTwitter https://t.co/sw3i00WhKg

— Chandresh Narayanan (@chand2579) July 15, 2022

How nice! https://t.co/GpMjcvKVB2

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 15, 2022

What a beautiful gesture and show of support by @babarazam258 for @imVkohli https://t.co/adoeJaRnM4

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) July 15, 2022