"You Two Are The Most Senior Cricketers So This Must Stop"- How Ravi Shastri's Responded To The Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma Controversy

In Indian cricket, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the dominant guys. Kohli and Rohit, the team’s two cricketers with the greatest experience, have a lengthy history together. Since they began competing for the Indian squad in 2008, they have not only made a significant contribution to its development but also forged enduring friendships. There is rarely a greater sight in cricket today than when they bat together and are in full swing.

That does not imply that their relationship has always been blissful or a bed of roses, though. There was a period, not too long ago, when there were juicy and damaging rumours of a breach between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. These rumours gathered traction during the 2019 World Cup and culminated once more when Kohli was relieved of his duties as India’s ODI skipper in late 2021.

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There Was A Rohit Sharma Camp vs Virat Kohli Camp: R Sridhar

In his book, former India fielding coach R Sridhar described how Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s relationship began to deteriorate, but Ravi Shastri intervened to keep things under control.

“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 ‘Coaching Beyond’.

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“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'”.

Kohli and Rohit had already pressed the reset button when Shastri, the head coach, interfered. Even while there may not have been anything to be concerned about initially, there was a chance that murmurs may infiltrate and create long-term harm.

Ravi Shastri Didn’t Waste Any Time Getting Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli Together: R Sridhar

Shastri stepped in to rescue the day, controlling and managing the circumstance as only he could. The relationship between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also substantially improved, as Sridhar observes next.

They could be seen celebrating their victory as a team and, more significantly, their achievement as individuals. They supported one other when the other’s performance suffered, shared a viral video celebrating India’s victory over Australia, and lifted Kohli after the former India captain’s game-winning innings against Pakistan being a testament of that.

“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 mutilate tribute to our culture ‘one for all, all for one, but team above all’,” added Sridhar.

Also Read: BCCI Stays Firm On Not Traveling To Pakistan For Asia Cup: Reports

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