“Baffling”, “ridiculous!” – Virat Kohli slams reports on rift with Rohit Sharma
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has quashed reports of a burgeoning rift with limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Speaking to the media in Mumbai ahead of their departure to the USA, Kohli used strong words to make it clear in no uncertain terms that there were no issues between him and Rohit. India will two of the three T20Is against West Indies in Florida.
Reports of a rift between two of the biggest stars in the Indian team became a hot topic of discussion in the last few days. The story gathered further steam after Rohit unfollowed Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma on various social media platforms. Anushka then posted a cryptic message on her Instagram story which only added fuel to the fire.
‘Feeding off lies’: Kohli
Kohli claimed that he was baffled that the media was bringing personal lives into the equation:
“In my opinion, it’s baffling, to be honest. It’s absolutely ridiculous to read such stuff that comes out there. I mean I’ve been to a few public events and the public sentiment that I’ve seen – everyone comes up and says, ‘yaar, aap log kya khele (you guys played so well). We have so much respect for you’. And here we are feeding off lies, we are overlooking facts, we are turning a blind eye to all the good things that have happened and creating fantasies and scenarios in our head and we want to accept that this is the truth. And I’ve seen this for too long now, you know bringing personal lives into the picture, it’s disrespectful at the moment. I’ve played the game for 11 years, Rohit has played for 10 years. It’s bizarre that you people are creating this on the outside when, as I said, [so much] about the change room environment.”
Also read: WI vs IND: Kohli backs ‘solid’ Rahane to come good
Hails team environment
Kohli also added that if there were rifts in the team, the unit wouldn’t have performed so consistently across all formats:
“If the team environment was not good, we wouldn’t have played the way we have in the last two-three years. I know very well how important the dressing-room environment and the trust factor are to succeed in international cricket. If that wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have been here in world cricket. Our journey from No. 7 to 1 [in Tests] and getting this consistency in ODIs and the way we’ve been strong in T20s as well. I know the environment is very important. To get from No. 7 to 1…that camaraderie wouldn’t have been there without the respect and understanding.”
I have praised @ImRo45 whenever I have had an opportunity because he has been that good. We have had no issues. We are working towards getting Indian Cricket to the top: @imVkohli #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/ijGqyKDxtS
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 29, 2019
“Happy if Shastri continues”
The skipper also openly endorsed Ravi Shastri to continue as the Indian team’s coach just a day before the window for applications closed. The BCCI had earlier extended Shastri & Co.’s deadline by 45 days after the World Cup. The West Indies tour will be the last assignment of the coaching staff’s existing term.
“With Ravi bhai, all of us have a great camaraderie, everyone in the team shares mutual respect [with him]. And we have done really well together as a group,” Kohli said at the pre-departure press conference for the tour of USA and West Indies. “Yeah, we will definitely be very happy if he is continuing as a coach, but as I said it is upon the CAC to seek my advice or opinion if they want. Right now, I haven’t been contacted at all. And I don’t know what is going to happen with the process.”
With Kohli himself putting the rift rumours to bed, the Indian team can now focus on a strong showing against the Windies. The tour will commence on August 3 and will end on September 3. It will consist of three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.
