'Virat shouldn't make such comments in the middle of Asia Cup': India legend questions Kohli's 'no one messaged me' jibe
After former captain Sunil Gavaskar wondered what Kohli could have been expecting and said that it would have only been fair had he named the people, another legendary India all-rounder has questioned the timing of his comment.
Former India captain Virat Kohli stirred up a bit of controversy when he recently said that no one reached out to him personally when he was going through a rough patch. After Pakistan defeated India by five wickets on Sunday in the Super 4 match of the Asia Cup, Kohli, addressing the PC, explained his mindset during that time, citing an example from back in January. An emotional Kohli revealed lack of support when stepping down as India's Test captain saying that no one barring MS Dhoni messaged him. (IND vs SL, Asia Cup 2022 Live Blog)
"When I left the Test captaincy, MS Dhoni was the only one among all the cricketers I had played with before who texted me. A lot of people have my number but he was the only one who texted me. It comes from the genuine respect that we have for each other. There is no insecurity from either end in our equation. These things matter. I live my life with honesty and these things matter for me. I just want to say this, if I have to tell someone about their game, I reach out individually. Even if I have to reach out to them, I do it personally," Kohli had said.
Kohli's explosive comments depict that somewhere deep down he was affected with the whole captaincy fiasco, which saw the BCCI remove him as India's ODI skipper shortly after he decided to resign as the T20I captain post the World Cup last year. But it seems as if Kohli's remarks have not been received too well by certain ex-India cricketers. After former captain Sunil Gavaskar wondered what Kohli could have been expecting and said that it would have only been fair had Virat named the people, legendary India all-rounder Madan Lal has questioned the timing of the comment and feels that it could well prove to be a distraction during a tournament as crucial and big as the Asia Cup.
"Virat shouldn't have made such a comment at such a time. See you are playing important matches, in the middle of a tournament where you need to qualify for the final. It's great that you have returned to form. Even if someone calls or doesn't call, if you are in trouble you have to work on it. He should have said it a couple of months earlier as well. If you're not in the best of nicks, you have to approach it yourself. Ego shouldn't clash here," Lal said on Sports Tak.
Since returning to top-flight cricket following his six-week long break, Kohli has looked in good nick with scores of 35, 59 not out and 60 in the ongoing Asia Cup. Slowly but steadily, Kohli seems to be getting his groove back and India would be hoping nothing short of the same from their star batter when they take on Sri Lanka later tonight, and then Afghanistan on Thursday with a place in the final up for grabs.
