'I never saw it' - Ravi Shastri denies claims of rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Former Indian player and current team head coach Ravi Shastri states that he has never seen any rift between skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and that their coordination has always been good.

Notably, there have been a plethora of reports in the past that have suggested an alleged rift between the Indian players, with different reasons speculated behind. Although, clearing the air from his side, Shastri laid it clear that neither there has been any such rift nor would the team not get affected if there existed any such problem between the two.

“I never saw it. So when people used to ask me like this, I say what you have seen I have not seen. Hamesha taalmel acha hai (the coordination has always been there). I have never seen it affecting the team. If I see an effect in the team, I will say on Virat or Rohit’s face that this is not on and you have to look at things differently. But not once have I seen it impacting the team from day 1. I am a person who says what I want,” Shastri told Times Now.

Virat Kohli has previously denied reports of rift with Rohit Sharma

Skipper Kohli too has been questioned over the same in the past when he brushed aside such claims and termed them “ridiculous to read” while highlighting how important is the dressing room atmosphere for a team to succeed.

“I too have heard a lot. Dressing room atmosphere is important to succeed. If this (rumour of the rift) was true, we would not have performed well. It’s ridiculous to read such news. We are overlooking facts. We are turning blind eyes towards good things. I have been to public events where we have been praised and here we are feeding off lies, turning a blind eye to all good things that happened and creating fantasies and scenarios in our head,” Kohli had said after the 2019 ODI World Cup.

“You’ll come to the changing room and see how we are. We can’t show you videos. It baffles you as a team member and the captain,” he further stated.

Kohli was not shy in praising his counterpart. “I have always praised Rohit whenever I have got an opportunity because I believe he is that good. I don’t know who is benefitting from all of this but we are living, breathing towards getting Indian cricket to the top, and here we get some kind of pleasure in bringing Indian cricket down.”