Sanjay Manjrekar has reacted to Virat Kohli’s comment on ‘outside talk’ and said that the 32-year-old should learn from his predecessor MS Dhoni and handle criticism with maturity.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has reacted to India captain Virat Kohli’s view on ‘outside talks’ which he feels are nothing but ‘nonsense’. The 32-year-old’s comment came in a press conference ahead of the 3-match ODI series against England in Pune.
Virat Kohli: All The Outside Talk Has Been Nonsense
Replying to a question on KL Rahul, who is going through a lean patch, Virat Kohli said that his team was not going to allow the ‘nonsense’ outside noise to enter the dressing room. He went on to add that players in Team India will be backed and given a good mental space.
“When an individual is going through a tough phase – it’s not like he forgets how to play, it’s just that mental clarity isn’t as good at the time – at that time if you know what things are being said and you’re being told you’re out of form, then you’re bringing in another external factor into your system,” Virat Kohli said about Rahul’s ongoing lean patch.
“It’s a simple game: you have to watch the ball and react and hit the ball. You have to be in the moment and all this outside talk, to be very honest, is complete nonsense.”
“From the first to the last day of my career, all this outside talk has been nonsense to me. Who says what and why about a player, what’s the motive behind it, what’s the thinking behind it, it’s better than all that remains outside because we’re not going to let it enter our system even in the future. We are going to back our players and try and give them a good mental space,” Virat Kohli said.
India had been struggling at the top of the order with KL Rahul scoring 1,0,0, 14 in the first four T20Is. Virat Kohli had backed KL Rahul to come well up until the final match as his patience finally ran out with the Karnataka batsman. The decision to open with Virat Kohli alongside Rohit Sharma paid off as the veteran duo stitched an opening partnership worth 94 runs which was their highest in the series.
Virat Kohli top-scored with 80 not out as India reached 224 for 2 in 20 overs in the final 5th T20I which was his highest score opening in T20Is. He has amassed 278 runs averaging 39.72 with 2 fifties in 8 innings atop the order. Virat Kohli’s 80 was laced with 7 fours and 2 sixes and came off 52 balls. He was the highest run-getter in the series and was awarded Man of the Series for scoring 231 runs averaging 115.5 in 5 games.
Sanjay Manjrekar: Virat Kohli Must Accept To Praise When A Cricketer Performs And Criticize When He Doesn’t
However, Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the India captain must learn to accept the “age-old reality” of “public reacting to a public performance”. He stated that Virat Kohli should show maturity and calmness like MS Dhoni while handling the criticism.
Sanjay Manjrekar feels Virat Kohli should learn to embrace criticism in a similar manner like shown by his predecessor MS Dhoni. The former Indian captain was known for his calm and composed demeanour who dealt with praise and criticism in an equal manner, without going overboard.
“Outside talk which Virat calls nonsense is basically public reacting to a public performance. And it’s always been the same- Praise when you do well, critique when you don’t. Virat must learn to accept this age old reality with calmness & maturity. Just like Dhoni did,” Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted.
The first ODI between India and England will be played on Tuesday. Virat Kohli confirmed that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will open in the 50-over format. It will be interesting to see if KL Rahul makes it to the playing XI of the first ODI or not.