Rohit Sharma defends struggling Virat Kohli from ‘expert’ views | Cricket News – Times of India

Life sometimes takes interesting turns. Just a few years back, Rohit Sharma was speculated to not enjoy a great equation with Virat Kohli, then India’s undisputed leader in all formats of the game.
Cut to the present and Rohit, India’s all-format captain now, finds himself vigorously defending the inclusion of an out-of-form Kohli, even as the din to drop him from India’s T20I side, grows louder.
Once rated as the best batsman in the world, Kohli has been under-fire after his failures in the fifth Test (11 & 20) and the T20I series (1 & 11) in England, where his extended lean patch has continued.
Post India’s 17-run defeat in the third T20I, though, Rohit ruled out the thought of dropping someone of the stature of Kohli from the Indian team, while referring to his team’s favourite phrase in modern times – “outside noise.” Rather strangely, he alluded that “experts” like Kapil Dev didn’t know what was happening inside the team.
“It’s not difficult at all for us because we don’t listen to outside noise. Also, I don’t know who these experts are and why they’re called experts. I don’t get that. They are seeing from outside, they don’t know what’s happening inside the team. We have a thought process, we make the team, we debate and discuss it and think a lot about it,” Rohit said.

“The players we pick are backed, they are given opportunities. People on the outside don’t know about it. So it’s more important about what’s happening within our team, that’s important for me,” added the 35-year-old.
It hasn’t helped Kohli’s case that an in-form Deepak Hooda had to sit out to make way for him in the XI. “India has so many batsmen who can get going from the start, some of them are unfortunately sitting out. Need to find a way to play the best available players in current form in T20 cricket,” tweeted India’s opening great Virender Sehwag.

On Monday, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad too questioned the long rope handed to Kohli and said other stars didn’t get similar backing.
“His problems have multiplied by previous India head coach Ravi Shastri’s exit. While he flourished under Shastri, it’s clear that he doesn’t enjoy the same equation with Rahul Dravid (India’s head coach since November last year),” a source in the board told TOI.