Team India’s white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has come out in support of Virat Kohli, who has struggled with his current form with the bat. Shutting down the reporters, Rohit stated that the former India captain is in great mental space.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the 1st T20I against West Indies, Rohit Sharma was asked what the captain and coach can do to help Kohli perform better. The newly-appointed white-ball captain sounded irritated by the repeated questions on Virat Kohli’s form.
“I think it’ll start from you guys. If you guys can keep quiet for a while I think he’ll be alright. We don’t need to do too much talking from your side then everything will be taken care of. I think he’s in a great mental space from whatever I see of him. You know, he’s been a part of this international team for more than a decade,” Rohit Sharma said.
“If someone has spent that much time in international cricket, he’ll know how to handle the pressure situations, the environment and everything. I think it all starts from you guys. If you guys can keep it quiet for a bit, everything will fall in place,” he added.
Even in the post-series press conference after India’s 3-0 whitewash of West Indies in the ODIs, Rohit Sharma had rallied behind Kohli. The cricketer from Mumbai had said Kohli doesn’t need any outside to feel confident.
Virat Kohli has not scored an international century since November 2109 against Bangladesh. His average in the one-dayers has also taken a hit in recent times.
Meanwhile, India will miss the services of vice-captain KL Rahul and all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda and Kuldeep Yadav have been added as replacements.
The three T20Is are scheduled to take place on February 16, 18 and 20 in Kolkata.
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain) (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav