Atul Wassan, the former India cricketer on Tuesday lashed out at India’s white-ball captain Rohit Sharma for the timing of his remark on Virat Kohli during the pre-series press conference in Kolkata before the 3-match T20I contest against West Indies.
Atul Wassan felt that skipper Rohit Sharma’s “keep it quiet” comment to a journalist on Virat Kohli’s diminishing returns with the bat should have come earlier amid the rumours of a rift between the two cricketing stalwarts of Indian cricket.
Atul Wassan Agrees That There Is Too Much Chatter On Virat Kohli’s Form
Atul Wassan admitted that the rumours were “unfounded”, but felt that newly appointed limited-overs skipper Rohit Sharma should have addressed the issue much earlier.
“I think this should have come sooner because the rumours emanating from the Indian dressing room and camp that there is a rift between Rohit and Virat which is unfounded and I think every player has got some issues and it doesn’t mean that they try to perform and under-perform when somebody else is the captain.
“I think this was historically done when Bishan Singh Bedi versus Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev versus Sunil Gavaskar used to happen. These guys are professionals these days,” he said.
The 53-year old also admitted that while the chatter around Virat Kohli’s form is natural, he backed Rohit Sharma for his comment.
“They play with each other, against each other and they play around. IPL is a perfect example. So, I think they travel so many months of the year together. So, I think they live like families. So, some kind of proximity breeds contempt that is pretty true.
“Something might happen but that should not be blown out of proportion that it should hamper the team’s morale Rohit has done the right thing by coming out in the open and I agree that there is too much chatter about Virat and it is natural,” he said.
Virat Kohli has failed to score a three-figure mark in international cricket since November 2019 and in the recent ODI series against West Indies, the former India captain registered a decade low with his tally of just 26 runs in three innings, his second-lowest in a bilateral ODI series comprising minimum three games.
Atul Wassan Backed Virat Kohli To Comeback To Form By Changing Technique Like Sachin Tendulkar
Atul Wassan also backed Virat Kohli to bounce back from his low just like Kapil Dev came back from his eyesight issue or Sachin Tendulkar overcame the tennis elbow injury.
“You know the kind of brilliant player he has been and the kind of shots he has invented. Especially the one from outside the off stump into the mid-wicket area for the fast bowlers that can happen when you are in the prime of your youth between 28 to 30.
“When I was talking to Kapil Dev eyesight suddenly drops and suddenly you find the shots you are missing. If he is a great player like Tendulkar like when he had a tennis elbow then he corrected himself and he started the bottom hand play. So, he changed his technique to survive another few years and I am sure Virat will do that too.”
India will take on West Indies in the first of the three-match T20I series in Kolkata on Wednesday and from here on every match is seen as a preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
The Indian team will be without the services of in-form opener KL Rahul in the 3-match T20I series after he suffered a hamstring injury. Spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar too suffered a hamstring strain during the ODI series against the West Indies. Kuldeep Yadav has been named as his replacement in the T20I squad.