India suffered a massive 100-run loss to England in the second ODI as the hosts recovered from their debilitating 10-wicket defeat to the Men in Blue in the first ODI. Returning to the team was the out-of-form Virat Kohli, who misfired yet again after a strong start to his innings while chasing England's 246 runs for the win.
In a run chase that was tailormade for Kohli, he started off well with a few boundaries with trademark shots. Just when he was looking a bit settled at the crease, David Willey got his wicket. Kohli poked at a delivery outside off stump as he edged it to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
Watch Rohit Sharma's Press Conference here:
Speaking at the press conference, skipper Rohit Sharma reiterated his support for the underfire batter. When asked whether Kohli needs any reassurances about his place in the team, Rohit was quick to back his compatriot, "Virat has played so many matches, he has been playing for many years. Such a good batsman he is. He doesn’t need any reassurance.
"I said this in the last press conference that a player has his ups and down with the form in his career. It’s the part and parcel of every player’s life. Players like Virat, who had won many matches for the team, and who had played these many matches and scored such big runs just need one or two good innings. This is what I believe and I reckon the cricket-watchers believe."
Admitting that Kohli's form has been a hot topic of discussion for critics, Rohit was sure that Kohli still possessed the qualities that once made him one of the most feared batters in world cricket. "We know this topic has been the talk of the town. For many years, we have been seeing the performance of players going up and down but one thing I’ll like to mention again, which I did last time is the quality of the player," he said.
"The quality of the player never dips, we need to keep this in mind. Look at the average and number of hundreds the guy has scored, he has all the experience he needs. See, everyone has had bad matches. There is no player in this world who has performed well in each and every match he played. Everyone has to go through the ups and downs in the game, and in personal life too," the 35-year-old said.
