India captain Rohit Sharma has once again jumped to Virat Kohli’s defence after the former skipper was out cheaply for 16 in the second ODI against England at Lord’s on Thursday. Kohli, in fact started off his innings looking in good nick, scoring three crisp boundaries before once again pocking at a ball outside off and getting out caught behind. With another low scores, a journalist, during the post-match press conference asked Rohit about Kohli’s form but even before he could complete his question, he was interrupted by the India captain.
“Virat Kohli ke baare mein kaafi charcha ho rahi hai (A lot is being talked about Virat Kohli)…” before Rohit stopped him right there and said… “Kyu ho rahi hi yaar? Mujhe toh samajh mein nahi aata bhai. Khair, puuuchiye?” (Why is he being discussed? I don’t understand. Anyway, carry on)
The journalist asked whether a player of Kohli’s calibre, when going through a slump, needs reassurance from his coach, captain and the rest of the staff or is it better to leave him alone. After the question was completed, Rohit, like he did during the previous PC, reiterated his, the team and the management’s faith on Kohli, saying Virat does not need to worry or be afraid about anything.
“He has played so many matches for so many years. He has been such a great batsman so he does not need reassurance. I think I said in the last press conference as well that form can go up and down. That is part and parcel of all the players’ career. This happens with everyone. So a player who has won so many matches, needs only 1 or 2 innings. This is what I believe and I am sure rest feel the same way,” Rohit said.
“People keep talking about his form but we should realise that performances can always fluctuate but the quality of a player will never deteriorate. The guy has scored so many centuries, you look at his average. So he has the experience. But every player has gone through bad matches. There is no player who has played and always scored runs. A slump is inevitable, even in personal life.”
In the last press conference too, Rohit was asked about the legendary Kapil Dev’s assessment of Kohli form, where the World Cup winning captain had said that the team should be open to the idea of dripping Kohli if he continues to not score runs. Replying to it, Rohit famously asked ‘Who are these experts?’. He pointed out that Kapil may only have followed the game from the outside and that what transpires inside the dressing room is not privy to everyone.
“He is watching the game from outside and does not know what is happening inside. We have our thought process. We build our team and behind this, there is a lot of thinking. We back the boys and give them opportunities. So, these things you do not get to know from outside. So, whatever is happening outside is not important but what is happening inside is more important for us,” he had said.
