It is certain that there’s no smoke without fire. Cricketing fans are well aware of the controversial statements and assumptions circulating all over the internet in respect to the captaincy fiasco. It is not the first time that rumors of rifts between the senior players in the team have come out. This has been the case forever and this won’t be the last time this will happen. There were talks about differences between Dhoni and senior players of the world cup winning team when he decided to make some tough decisions for the future of the team. However, that is not the case with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
What is the bond between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma?
Well, they may not exactly be ‘best friends forever but they aren’t enemies either. Enough has been spoken and written about it all over the media. The two lads are the backbone of the Indian cricket team and enjoy batting together. The duo has some fantastic partnership records batting together over the years. Talking about the rift, clearing the air between both the players have time and again come out and said that the speculations are absolutely absurd. In a recent interview after being announced as the skipper of limited-overs format, Rohit Sharma said, ” Kohli led from the front” and there was “clear determination” to win every game.
“He’s put the team in a situation where there is no looking back. Those five years with the team he led from the front and there was clear determination to win every game. We had a great time playing under him. I have played great cricket under him and have enjoyed every moment, and I’ll still continue to do that. We need to keep getting better as a team and as an individual. That will be the focus of the entire squad moving forward,” says Rohit in an interview with bcci. tv.
On the other hand, speaking to the journalists in a virtual press conference before leaving for South Africa, Kohli said, “there’s no problem between me and Rohit Sharma. I’m tired of saying these things for 2.5 years now.”
What is accelerating the news?
Team India is yet to win an ICC tournament since Virat Kohli took over his duty as the captain. It is now understandable that BCCI is looking to end its trophy drought. Ever since Virat declared that he will not continue to be the captain for T20I, there were sparks regarding BCCI trying to go for only one white-ball captain. What really irked the differences was the BCCI’s statement right before announcing the squad for the South Africa tour. The cricketing board put up a statement announcing Rohit Sharma as the white-ball skipper without any explanation. Taking cricket fraternity by surprise. Furthermore, the sudden injury of Rohit Sharma before the test series and the allegations of Kohli requesting leave from ODIs added fuel to the fire.
Indian cricket: What is the current update?
Speaking first time since the statement came out, the Indian Test skipper cleared all the wrong ideas from the mind of the fans. In the virtual press conference, Kohli confidently answered questions regarding his take on the board’s decision to which he replied, I can understand the reasons. BCCI has taken the reasons from a logical point of view. There is no problem between me and Rohit Sharma. My responsibility is to push the team in the right direction. Rohit is a very able captain and tactically very sound. Along with Rahul bhai, who is a great man-manager. They will get my 100 percent support in ODIs and T20Is.”
However, while talking about if this decision was discussed with him or not, he informs, “I was contacted one and a half hours before selection for Tests. When I told BCCI that I want to give up the T20I captaincy, it was accepted really well. There was no hesitancy. I was told that it was a progressive step. I was informed at that time that I would like to lead in ODIs and Tests. The communication from my side was clear but I had also informed that if the office bearers and selectors don’t think I should lead in other formats then that is fine.”
Problem for BCCI
At the moment, even though the press conference may have cleared up the misunderstandings the cricketing board will have to work up it’s a communication problem. We can just wait and see how well BCCI takes the conference and what will happen in the future.