Former India captain Virat Kohli who is facing a lot of criticism for his recent form has been backed by his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma. Rajkumar believes that the modern-day great will perform like a 'champion' in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. The marquee event is scheduled to start from February 19 and the Men in Blue will start their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai.
All eyes will be on India's stylish batter Kohli to see whether he can overcome his recent struggles and lead India’s charge in the eight-team ODI event. Kohli smashed a half-century in the third ODI against England in Ahmedabad but his overall performances have come under scrutiny. The star batter failed to perform in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and he got cheaply dismissed scoring five runs in the second ODI against England.
"Just because some matches went bad, does not mean the player is out-of-touch. When you look at his previous records, you will see what he did for the country. I believe that he will be performing like the champion player he always has been," Rajkumar said on the sidelines of the Restaurant Cricket League in Delhi.
Kohli is one of the best performers in the history of the Champions Trophy. The 36-year-old batter scored 529 runs in 13 matches at an average of 88.16 and a strike rate of 92.32. The former India captain is currently in Dubai alongside Rohit Sharma-led side and will be seen in action in the opener clash against Bangladesh.
India squad for Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.