India skipper Virat Kohli has brushed aside the reports of rift between him and his deputy Rohit Sharma, saying the team wouldn’t be successful if not for the camaraderie and understanding in the dressing room.
Ever since India’s ouster from the World Cup 2019, the reports of rift between Kohli and Rohit were doing the rounds. The speculations intensified even more after Rohit “unfollowed” India captain’s spouse, Anushka Sharma, on Instagram last week.
However, Virat categorically denied the rumours while addressing the media before departing for the West Indies tour.
“In my opinion, it’s baffling. It’s absolutely ridiculous to read such stuff. I’ve been to few public events. Everyone comes up and says we have respect for you. And here we are feeding off lies and overlooking facts. We are turning a blind eye to all the good things that have happened and creating fantasies and scenarios in our heads, and want to accept that this is the truth,” he told reporters.
“I’ve seen this for too long now, bringing personal lives into the picture. It’s disrespectful beyond a point, honestly. I’ve played the game for 11 years, Rohit has played for 10 years. It’s bizarre that people are creating this stuff on the outside. You guys come to the change room and see, we can’t make videos and show you guys. It baffles you as a leader, coach and a team when lies are being floated around. They are made to look like they are believable. It’s disrespectful,” he added.
Kohli also stressed on the rapport he shares with Rohit and added that it was time for everyone to focus on Indian cricket and not on ‘things that don’t exist’.
“I’m the kind of person who, if I don’t like a person or insecure about him, you’ll see it on my face or in my behaviour towards that person. That’s how simple it is,” he said. “I have always praised Rohit at every opportunity because I believe he is that good. We have had no issues. As I said it’s baffling. I don’t know who is benefitting with all these stories. We are living, breathing, living and working towards taking Indian cricket to the top. And then people want to get some kind of pleasure in bringing it down. I don’t understand how that works. You work hard for four years to bring a team from seven to one, and after four years what are we talking about.”“Within the team, it’s there for everyone to see – the friendship and camaraderie. It’s baffling and ridiculous to read such stuff. It’s time we focus on taking Indian cricket forward and not on things that are not even there.”
India head coach Ravi Shastri, sitting next to Kohli, also dismissed the speculations.
“The way this team plays, no individual is bigger than the game. The way they play is in the interest of the team. You cannot have the kind of consistency across all formats if you have rifts or divisions or whatever. It is not possible. I’ve been a part of that dressing room for some time, and none of that nonsense is there,” Shastri said.