India”s head coach Ravi Shastri on Monday rubbished all the speculations regarding a rift between skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy. Ever since India crashed out of the World Cup semi-finals against New Zealand, there have been talks of the BCCI considering split-captaincy theory.
Considering Rohit”s impressive record as captain in franchise-based T20 cricket, many wanted the Mumbai Indians” skipper to take charge of the Indian team in limited-overs cricket. But the management backed Kohli and entrusted their faith in the 30-year-old.
Ravi Shastri on the “feud” between the two senior pros
Addressing the media before leaving for the tour of West Indies, Shastri said every player plays in the interest of the team and that no individual is bigger than the team. He also went on to say that no rift whatsoever is there between the two senior pros.
“The way this team plays, no individual is bigger than the game. Not me, not him (Virat), nobody in the team. And the way they play, it is in the interest of the team. You cannot have the kind of consistency across all the formats, if you have rifts or divisions. I have been part of the dressing room and none of that nonsense is there,” said Ravi Shastri.
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Kohli echoed Shastri”s statement
Kohli, too, echoed Shastri”s sentiments. The captain stressed on the fact that there are no differences between him and Rohit. He went on to say that it is not possible to produce like they did without a good atmosphere.
“I have also heard a lot of things in last few days. If the dressing room atmosphere wasn”t healthy, then it wasn”t possible for us to play the way we have been playing in the last couple of years.” Kohli said while briefing the media.
“I understand how important is the dressing room atmosphere and the trust factor is for a team to succeed in international cricket,” Kohli added.
The Indian team will fly to the US to play a couple of T20Is before heading to the Caribbean island to take part in the ODI series, followed by Test cricket.