Virat Kohli says reports on rift with Rohit Sharma ‘baffling and disrespectful’

Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli on Monday addressed the media along with coach Ravi Shastri ahead of the team’s departure for the tour to West Indies. Responding to questions about his rumoured rift with Rohit Sharma, Kohli said that such reports are baffling and disrespectful.

“In my opinion, its baffling. It’s absolutely ridiculous to read these kind of stuff, that comes out there. I have been to public events where we have been praised and here we are feeding off lies, overlooking facts, turning a blind eye to all good things that happened and creating fantasies and scenarios in our head. We want to accept that this is the truth,” Kohli insisted that his relationship with Rohit is fine.

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Adding fuel to all the speculations was a cryptic instagram post by Kohli’s actress wife Anushka Sharma, which was later deleted.

“I have seen this for too long now. Bringing personal lives into the picture. It’s disrespectful after a moment. I have played the game for 11 years and Rohit has played for 10 years (12 years) and it’s bizarre that people are creating this stuff from outside,” Kohli said.

Talking about the dressing room environment Kohli said that the team has stuck together as a group and performed to the best of their abilities and all this has been possible because the bunch had stuck together.

“I have also heard a lot of things. Now you can only hear things from outside. If the dressing room environment had been bad, then we couldn’t have possibly played the quality of cricket that we played,” the Indian captain said. “Because I know how the dressing room environment and trust factor becomes important to succeed in international cricket. The journey that we have had in ODIs, in Tests (from No 7 to 1) and T20s, that wouldn’t have been possible without camaraderie, respect and understanding.”

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“You people please come to our change room and see, how we speak to a Kuldeep Yadav, how we crack a joke with the senior-most player MS Dhoni. We can’t shoot a video and show you guys. It baffles you as a leader, when lies are being floated around to make it look like actually they are believable,” he added.

When asked about whether it would be awkward for him to meet Rohit after such rumours, Kohli said that he doesn’t worry about things that don’t even exist.

“If I don’t like a person or if I am insecure about a person, you will see it on my face or my behaviour towards the person and that’s how simple it is,” Kohli said. “I have always praised Rohit whenever I have got an opportunity because I believe he is that good. I don’t know who is benefitting from all of this but we are living, breathing towards getting Indian cricket to the top, and here we get some kind of pleasure in bringing Indian cricket down,” he added.

The 30-year-old that this is a time for the media to do some introspection. “We have to reflect as cricketers everyone can take a step back and think are we creating something that’s really not out there. You can’t play with that kind of passion if you don’t get along with each other. As I said, its baffling and its time that we focus on taking Indian cricket forward,” the captain signed off.

(With inputs from PTI)