'He was coughing...': Rohit Sharma breaks silence on Virat Kohli's 'health' after reports of illness create a storm
India captain Rohit Sharma offered much-anticipated update on Virat Kohli's health after reports of his illness took the internet by storm.
There were concerns surrounding Virat Kohli's health after his wife Anushka Sharma posted about the India star batting 'through sickness' on Day 4 of the India vs Australia Test in Ahmedabad. It was shortly after Kohli had gotten out for 186 that Anushka took to Instagram to caption her story "Playing through sickness with his composure. Inspiring me always." The post creates a storm on social media with people worried if something was wrong with Kohli, more so after the former India captain had played a sedate knock en route to his first Test century after three years. After stumps, India all-rounder Axar Patel was asked the question about Kohli's health, to which he replied: "I don't know. The way he was running between the wickets, it didn't look like he was sick. In such hot weather, he forged a such a great partnership and ran so well. It was fun batting with him."
The reports of Kohli being ill were a bit off given he was always on the field. He returned to take his position in the slip cordon and fielded throughout the fifth day, indicating that all was well with King Kohli. The million-dollar question was then asked to captain Rohit Sharma shortly after the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 ended in a draw making India victorious with a 2-1 result. And hopefully, this update from Rohit ends the rumours once and for all. "I don't think he is sick; he was just coughing a little bit, but I don't think it's that bad health wise," he said during the press conference.
Kohli ended his 40-month long wait for a Test century – his 28th. A lot has changed since Kohli scored his 27th century in November of 2019 – he was still India's all-formats captain, the world did not know about Covid-19, Shubman Gill hadn't made his Test debut and Suryakumar Yadav was yet to play for India – that is how long it had been. Kohli had returned to form in white-ball formats since last year's Asia Cup when he smashed his maiden T20I century and then struck two ODI tons in three matches recently. Test cricket was the only format where Kohli looked a bit out of sorts but this knock, which earned him the Player of the Match award, puts to rest any lingering doubts.
"Regarding Virat, I don't think there was any monkey on his back. When you're around a player like that, when you see how they go about their business, you don't feel that kind of thing going in his head or he's thinking about anything. He is just thinking about the moment. He wants to put up big performance for the team which he has done in the past so many years, and wants to do that everytime he gets the opportunity to do it for India. I don't think he is sick; he was just coughing a little bit, but I don't think it's that bad health wise," added Rohit.
