Team India head coach Ravi Shastri finally breaks silence on reports of alleged rift between Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

Media reports of an alleged rift between Team India skipper Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma grab headlines every now and then but this news was never confirmed and Team India continued to scale new heights under Kohli's leadership. Kohli is the captain of Indian cricket team in all three formats of the game and Rohit is an important player of the team in all the format. Notably, Rohit has also led India in the absence of Virat Kohli.

In an interaction with Times Now, head coach Ravi Shastri opened up on the reports of the alleged rift between Kohli and Rohit. Shastri asserted that there was never any rift between the two star cricketers.

"I never saw it. So when people used to ask me like this, I say what you have seen I have not seen. Hamesha taalmel acha hai (the co-ordination has always been there). I have never seen it affecting the team. If I see an effect in the team, I will say on Virat or Rohit's face that this is not on and you have to look at things differently. But not once have I seen it impacting the team from day 1. I am a person who says what I want," Shastri told Times Now.

In 2019, Kohli was also asked about the alleged rift and he had vehemently rejected such claims. "I too have heard a lot. Dressing room atmosphere is important to succeed. If this (rumour of the rift) was true, we would not have performed well. It's ridiculous to read such news. We are overlooking faces. We are turning blind eyes towards good things. It's disrespectful to bring such news. You'll come to the changing room and see how we are. We cant show you videos. It baffles you as a team member and the captain," he had said.

At present, both Kohli and Rhoti are are in the UK along with Team India and are getting ready to face England in the fourth and penultimate Test from September 2 (Thursday), at Kennington Oval, London.

The five-match Test series is currently levelled at 1-1.