Virat Kohli, Ravi Shashtri clears air on alleged rift; watch video

Mumbai: Addressing the rumours of a rift between vice captain Rohit Sharma and himself, Indian captain Virat Kohli ended all kinds of speculations regarding the rift between him and Rohit by stating that people were unnecessarily creating lies and were being disrespectful to the players’ private lives.

Addressing the media in Mumbai during the pre-departure press conference before the West Indies tour, Kohli had clarified, “I have heard a lot of things from the outside, If the atmosphere was not right then we would not have been able to come on top of ODI.”

“In my opinion, it’s baffling. It’s ridiculous to read such stuff. We are feeding on lies and overlooking facts and creating fantasies and scenarios. Bringing personal lives into the picture is disrespectful. Baffling that lies are being floated.”

“We wouldn’t have had the kind of performances we’ve had if the dressing room atmosphere wasn’t a good one. The kind of performances we’ve had is only possible due to the camaraderie, trust, and understanding in our team.”

“You enter the dressing room and witness for yourself the kind of healthy atmosphere that’s there. Bizarre how lies are made to look believable.”

“If the team environment was not good, we wouldn’t have played the way we have in the last two-three years. If that wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have been here in world cricket. Our journey from No. 7 to 1 [in Tests] and getting this consistency in ODIs and the way we’ve been strong in T20s as well. To get from No. 7 to 1…that camaraderie wouldn’t have been there without the respect and understanding.”

After Virat Kohli was asked if the rift talks made the environment unsafe in the dressing room, Kohli replied, “If I don’t like a person you will see that on my face. I have always praised Rohit,. We have had no issues. I don’t know who is benefitting from this. we want to bring India cricket on top. You can’t play with that kind of passion if players don’t get along.”

Meanwhile, head coach Ravi Shashtri also stated, “The way this team plays, no individual is bigger than the team. The amount of consistency India has achieved would not be possible with rifts and all that nonsense.”

Since India exited from the 2019 World Cup, there have been rumours that there were two different camps – a Virat Kohli camp and a Rohit Sharma camp.

Earlier, several reports came out stating that Virat Kohli will not attend the team’s pre-departure press conference for the West Indies tour. But, the BCCI cleared that Kohli will be attending the press conference. And, Kohli did hold the meeting along with head coach Ravi Shashtri.

Initially, the team is slated to play two T20Is on 3rd and 4th in Florida before heading to the Caribbean islands to the play a Test and an ODI series.