Asia Cup: Kapil Dev backs Virat Kohli to regain form

Legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev said that star batter Virat Kohli looked good on his comeback against Pakistan in the Asia Cup opener and it will not take him too long to be back in form.

India won their Asia Cup opener against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday by five wickets.

Kohli was the joint top-scorer in the match along with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, as he played a fine knock of 35 off 34 balls after overcoming a nervous start.

"Good to see him come back. I saw a couple of shots where he really made an impact. I just want him to be more sure about that. So far, he is coming back, he looked good. He was lucky in the first over when he was dropped. I like his attitude not only today, but from the last 10 years. This makes him a bigger player than anyone else," said Kapil.

Kohli will get another chance to regain his form when India play minnows Hong Kong in their second Asia Cup game in Dubai today.

"No player will get runs in every match, no player will get a zero in every match," Kapil said.

"I think with his ability, his talent, it should not take him that long to come back to form. Just waiting for one big knock, he will be back, I have no doubt about it," he added.

Kohli has been struggling for form since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. He has also gone over thousand days without scoring an international century.

Since his last international century, he has represented India in 69 matches and scored 2,589 runs at an average of 34.06. He has hit 24 half-centuries across formats since his last international ton.

This year in particular has been very tough for Kohli.

He has played only five T20Is for his side, across which he has scored 116 runs at a poor average of 23.20. His best score in the format this year is 52.