After scoring 60 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 clash on Sunday, Virat Kohli held a very emotional press conference. The former Indian cricket team captain said except MS Dhoni nobody got in touch with him after he quit Test captaincy last year. “I can say one thing that when I announced my resignation from Test captaincy, I got message from only one person with whom I player earlier, that is MS Dhoni. Many people have my number…many people give suggestions on TV…but the people who had my number, nobody messaged. The respect, the connection that you have with somebody, when that is genuine, it shows this way,” Kohli said.
Former Indian cricket team captain Sunil Gavaskar has now said that the ‘other persons’ who did not get in touch with Kohli should have been ‘named’.
“I don’t know what the dressing room inside-situation was with all these other players. Ideally, if he has named one person who got in touch, then maybe the other persons who didn’t get in touch should have also been named. That would have been a little bit fair to everybody concerned, rather than thinking that everybody else didn’t get in touch with him,” Gavaskar said in a discussion on India Today.
In a separate discussion, on Sports Tak, Gavaskar added: “What message did he want?” he questioned. “Encouragement? But then he is done with captaincy, so why would he need encouragement? That chapter (captaincy) is already closed.”
He felt rather when one leaves captaincy, the best part is about being able to focus solely on one’s game.
“Now you are playing only as a cricketer. So focus on that role because when you are the captain, you think about and worry about your mates. Once captaincy is over, it’s time to focus on your own game,” the legendary opener said.
