'He never looked out of rhythm' - Mohammad Kaif heaps praise on Virat Kohli for his great comeback

Virat Kohli, Mohammad Kaif (Image Source: Twitter)

After the conclusion of the England tour, Virat Kohli took a break from cricket and finally made a comeback in the Asia Cup 2022. The 33-year-old looked rusty in the first match against Pakistan albeit he made a decent 35 off 34 balls. Carrying on with the momentum, he bagged a fifty to his name in the second match against Hong Kong.

Despite doing well in the Asia Cup 2022, a few former cricketers were not happy with Kohli's return to competitive cricket. Amid criticism from cricketers, Mohammad Kaif, the former India cricketer heaped praise on the youngster. The 42-year-old said that the batter played well and recalled one of his innings from the Indian T20 League to prove that the batter is in rhythm.

"He’s played well so far. It’s been a really good comeback, something to be happy about. You see, when Virat Kohli wasn’t scoring runs, people’s prayers were with him… People were worried but no one said, ‘Virat Kohli is finished'," Kaif said in an interview with Sportskeeda.

He never looked out of rhythm: Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif quickly pointed out that the legend's rhythm was never off sync and said that he only lacked form. The former India cricketer was happy about Kohli's performance in the Asia Cup and said that the feel-good factor is slowly coming back.

"Everyone believed he was a class batter. Yes, his form wasn’t clicking for a long time, but he never looked out of rhythm. Even when he played the IPL, I remember he scored 72 not out against Gujarat Titans, even hit a six against Rashid Khan, he was in rhythm there as well," Kaif pointed out.

He said, further, that the batter tackled Pakistani bowlers well and hailed the new shots that he discovered.

"One shot was against leg-spinner, cross-batted, over mid-wicket — he doesn’t hit that shot often. This is a new shot he’s discovered, across the line and over mid-wicket, he doesn’t use that a lot. It’s visible that his form is returning, and the feel-good factor is back," he concluded.