Kohli was addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Monday ahead of the team’s departure for the series against West Indies. What prompted the captain’s response was a series of questions on the rumours of a rift between him and Rohit Sharma — which gained currency after the latter allegedly unfollowed Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma on Instagram.
Kohli chose “bafflement” as his reaction to such reports. And he presented his case in a calm and coherent manner. The intimation from BCCI had only mentioned that Kohli would be addressing the media, but Ravi Shastri was present too — it was clear that the team management was in a mood to address the elephant in the room and squash the speculation before it became any bigger.
They cited the team’s recent performances to bolster their case against the rumour mill. In a nutshell, they said, had there been any grave issues between the pair, or in the camp, India wouldn’t be doing well in all three formats.
“I know how important the dressing room atmosphere and the trust factor are to succeed in international cricket. If all those things were not there, then we would not be in this position today. Our journey from No 7 to No. 1 (in Tests) — we have also been consistent in ODIs, we have been strong in T20s — that would not be possible without the camaraderie, the understanding and the respect,” Kohli replied.
“It’s baffling to be honest. I don’t know who is benefitting from all of this. We here are living, breathing, working towards getting Indian cricket to the top and here people want to get some kind of pleasure in bringing it down. I don’t understand how that works.”
