There have been several reports about a rift between two biggies of World Cricket, Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli. And finally ending all the speculations, former fielding coach R Sridhar revealed that things were not good between the two senior players of the Indian Cricket team. So what actually happened? Here we are with answers to all your questions.
The Story behind Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma Rift!
We have often seen both Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli sharing great bonds & supporting each other off & on the field. However, there were times when there were rumors about rifts between the two biggest cricketers of World Cricket & formation of groups within the Indian Camp.
When Did the Rumors of a Rift between Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma Surface?
Former Fielding Coach, Sridhar revealed that the rumors about a rift between Rohit & Kohli started doing rounds when Rohit unfollowed Kohli on Instagram. He further said that the Indian Camp was divided into two groups Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma after India’s disheartening defeat. And the two senior-most players of the Indian team were not on the same page.
R Sridhar opened up about the most controversial topic in his book, Coaching Beyond’. He clarified that though there was no personal grudge between the players, the team was divided into two groups because of the rumors of their rift spreading like fire in the outside world.
He shed light on the fact that after the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup, there was lots of news regarding the Indian Cricket Team’s culture & things that happened in the dressing room. This all started coming after India lost the 2019 ICC World Cup semi-finals. There were also updates about two camps formed within the Indian team & things were not good between the two senior players. Then Head Coach, Ravi Shastri decided to intervene in between & settle the growing dispute.
10 days after India’s defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals of the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 team India traveled to the United States for the West Indies. And it was Ravi Shastri who decided to speak with both of them before the beginning of the series. He tried to resolve the issues between them before their rift actually catch fire.
What advice Ravi Shastri gave to Virat & Rohit?
Sridhar highlighted in his book that after reaching Lauderhill, USA, Shastri called both the players to his room & spoke to them in person. He made them understand that whatever happens on social media shouldn’t affect their equation. He told them don’t mix social media stuff with professional life & issues between two senior players will affect the functioning of the team. He tried to make Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma talk to each other so that they can solve their rift & move ahead with a positive approach.
Does the Rift between Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma still exist?
Sridhar’s revelation clearly depicted that there were certain issues between Virat & Rohit. However, Despite Shastri intervening & solving the rift between Virat & Rohit, the rumors kept surfacing time & again.
When Virat Kohli left T20I captaincy & was removed from ODI Captaincy there were rumors that Kohli is not willing to play under Rohit’s Captaincy & thus he ruled himself out from the India Tour of New Zealand 2022. Later reports surfaced that Kohli was ruled out of the series due to personal issues. After India lost the Test series against South Africa in 2022, Kohli stepped down from Test Captaincy. It was the moment Kohli was going through a downfall in his career. And according to him except MS Dhoni no one else reached out to him. He indirectly indicated that though Rohit Sharma is a part of the Indian team, he didn’t bother to check on him. Virat’s statement clearly indicated the prevalence of rifts between the duo.
Even Chetan Sharma spoke about Virat & Rohit’s relationship in his controversial sting operation video. He clearly stated that there are ego clashes between the duo & no such personal grudges. He gave the example of Amitabh Bachchan & Dharmendra to depict the ego issues between Virat & Rohit.
Our Final Take
All these instances depict that though there were no personal grudges between Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma there was no rift prevailing between the duo. But in recent times their bond & camaraderie has improved a lot as we have often seen Virat & Rohit sharing some light moments.
Even during Virat Kohli’s prolonged lean phase, it was Rohit Sharma who came out in his support & said that Virat is the senior player of the team & he would surely come back to form. Back in 2022, during India’s series against Australia both Virat & Rohit hugged each other when Virat scored a ton & helped India to win the third ODI clinching the series by 2-1. Their hug was a clear statement for all that there is no more rift between Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma & they share a cordial relationship.
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