'There Was Rohit Camp And Virat Camp': R Sridhar Reveals How Ravi Shastri's Stern Message Brought Kohli-Rohit Camp Saga To End
In the aftermath of India's World Cup loss, rumors of a possible rivalry between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma started circulating.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two of the most brilliant and senior most batters in the Indian cricket team setup, have been playing for the national team since 2008 and share a brilliant bond. However, at one time, reportedly there were differences between the two, resulting in the Indian team being divided into 'Virat camp and Rohit camp'.
Virat Kohli-led India, one of the favourites to win the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, got knocked out of the tournament following a heartbreaking 18-run loss to New Zealand. The tournament saw senior opener Rohit Sharma hit incredible five tons. In the aftermath of India's World Cup loss, rumors of a possible rivalry between Virat and Rohit started circulating. The news gained more momentum after Kohli was removed as India's ODI captain at the end of 2021.
Former India fielding coach R Sridhar in his book 'Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team' revealed how the then head coach Ravi Shastri took over hold of things to resolve the matter and issued a stern warning to the duo.
"After the 2019 World Cup, there was a lot of bad press about what allegedly happened in the dressing room during our campaign and following our loss to New Zealand in the semifinal. We were informed that there was a Rohit camp and a Virat camp, that someone had unfollowed another on social media – stuff that could be unsettling if you allowed it to fester," Sridhar wrote in his book 'Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team.'
"We landed in the United States (US) some 10 days after the World Cup for a T20 series against West Indies in Lauderhill. One of the first things Ravi did on arrival was to call Virat and Rohit to his room and impress upon them that for Indian cricket to be healthy, they needed to be on the same page. 'Whatever happened on social media, that's all fine, but you two are the most senior cricketers so this must stop,' Ravi said in his typical non-nonsense manner. 'I want you to put all this behind and get together for us to move forward," he added.
Sridhar explained how Shastri's stern warning to Virat and Rohit had an immediate effect.
"You could see that things started to get better after that. Ravi's action was swift, simple and decisive. It was just getting both the guys together, sitting them down and making them talk. Ravi didn't waste any time in doing so.
"That he felt encouraged to call the white-ball captain and his deputy to clearly state his mind is indicative of the kind of atmosphere we had facilitated. That Virat and Rohit saw reason in Ravi's stance and immediately got down to business was the ultimate tribute to our culture 'one for all, all for one, but team above all'," Sridhar explained.
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