The newly appointed Indian Men’s cricket team captain lost his cool during a press conference on Friday. Rohit Sharma was addressing the conference post the mammoth defeat against England.
In that game, India could not chase a marginal total of 246 runs posted by England. The Indians bowled superbly, but the batters let them down. The captain scored a 10-ball duck and was unhappy about the performance in general.
However, there was only one thing that irked him more than anything. And that was a reporter’s question about Virat Kohli’s team placement.
Kohli, who has been struggling to make runs of late, was once again targeted by the media. He could only contribute 16 runs to India’s total of 146 all out. Hence, a wave of questions emerged, should Kohli be dropped or not.
Rohit Sharma protects Kohli at press conference
Rohit Sharma had a very straightforward response to the question. He interrupted the reporter, “Virat Kohli ke baare mein kaafi charcha ho rahi hai (A lot is being talked about Virat Kohli)…” he added. “Why is he being discussed? I don’t understand.”
After this, the reporter asked whether Kohli required any reassurances from his teammates. Or even from the coaches to perform at the highest level. To this question, Rohit responded by backing his former captain. And ensured everyone that Kohli didn’t need to be worried or bothered by 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,” Rohit professed.
He also assessed that it would take Kohli just an inning or two to regain his form.
This is not the first time Rohit Sharma has defended Kohli in a conference. Earlier it was after a comment by Kapil Dev, asking Kohli to be dropped, that Rohit came to the rescue.
To Kapil Dev’s question, Rohit asked, “who are these experts?”
He went on to explain how these people are only watching the game from the outside. And have no ideas behind the team building at the current time. Hence, whatever happens outside is not essential for the team. He concluded.
