Kohli-Rohit Rift Stories Won't End Soon, Feels Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar stated that these stories are generally started by frustrated players in the dressing room which in turn hurts the environment in the team

Besides India’s shocking exit from the ICC World Cup 2019, the thing which drew much attention recently is the ‘rift stories’ between Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma. The Indian captain had already rubbished all talks before leaving for the Caribbean tour but the speculations aren’t ending yet. Meanwhile, former captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar opined that both Kohli and Rohit can shout from the top of the roof, but stories of rift will continue to do the rounds. “Virat and Rohit can shout from the rooftops as much as they can but this story won't end. Every time Rohit fails there will be those who will nod their heads knowingly and a wink, hinting he deliberately got out. Nobody even gives a thought to the fact that if a player fails he is likely to be dropped and so he would be hurting his own chances of survival in the squad,” he wrote in his column for Sportstar. Gavaskar went on to add that these stories are generally started by frustrated players in the dressing room which in turn hurts the environment in the team. “Whoever starts such stories is definitely not a well-wisher of Indian cricket. More often than not it's a frustrated player in the squad who gives wings to stories like this. His envy and jealousy harm the team. Then, of course, it suits some administrators to play their own game of politics,” he added. He also gave his view on the role of the media in the whole issue. “For the media, it's manna from heaven and so while it can be suppressed when the cricket is on, the rest days between games is where the story gets fanned further. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are professionals and they will put their heads down and go out to win matches for India but the story won't stop even 20 years later,” he explained.