Indian cricket team's loss in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2019 was followed by reports of a rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Indian cricket team's loss in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2019 was followed by reports of a rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Social media was even flooded with users asking BCCI to shift the captaincy from Kohli to Rohit in white-ball cricket. There were also theories about the two men not seeing eye to eye anymore.
However, when Kohli faced the media before the start of the West Indies tour he said, "In my opinion, it's baffling. It’s absolutely ridiculous to read these kinds 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”.
'Faltu ki nauthanki': Twitter reacts to Kohli's comments on 'rumours of rift' with Rohit Sharma
While many cricket pundits had a lot of say about the issue, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes such stories can last for decades. Gavaskar in a column for Sportstar revealed why he thinks the same:
1. 'For the media, it’s manna from heaven,' says Sunil Gavaskar
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According to Gavaskar, “Virat and Rohit can shout from the rooftops as much as they can but this story won’t end. Every time Rohit fails there will be those who will nod their heads knowingly and wink, hinting he deliberately got out".
Gavaskar also spoke about the likely source of such stories. He wrote he knows that the media will continue to publish issues related to this for years.
“Whoever starts such stories is definitely not a well-wisher of Indian cricket. More often than not it’s a frustrated player in the squad who gives wings to stories like this. His envy and jealousy harm the team. Then, of course, it suits some administrators to play their own game of politics.
“For the media, it’s manna from heaven and so while it can be suppressed when the cricket is on, the rest days between games is where the story gets fanned further. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are professionals and they will put their heads down and go out to win matches for India but the story won’t stop even 20 years later,” India’s most prolific Test opener wrote.
2. No photos together
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Since the start of the Windies tour, the two batsmen have not spoken have kept each other away from their team photos. While Rohit Sharma hasn't posted much since being on the tour, the Indian skipper has been sharing pics with teammates.
Squad? Virat Kohli shares yet another picture with teammates, Rohit Sharma MIA
Taking to social media, Kohli shared a picture posing with Ravindra Jadeja, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Shreyas Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and KL Rahul and captioned it, "SQUAD".
SQUAD pic.twitter.com/2uBjgiPjIa
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 2, 2019
On 1 August, India's wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant shared an image on Instagram along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rohit Sharma. He captioned the picture "Mellow Vibe ~ Killer Tribe #ingoodcompany #miami".
3. Is Anushka Sharma cause for Kohli-Rohit rift?
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The reason suspected for this rift is Kohli’s spouse Anushka Sharma. DNA has reliably learnt that it all started in the WC because Sharma and other players felt that and the chief coach Ravi Shastri were taking unilateral decisions without taking them into confidence.
It has been alleged by many insiders that Anushka’s presence in the team hotel did create an uneasy atmosphere for many other wives.
Is star spouse Anushka Sharma the cause for Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma rift?
