'It is passion of fans that drives them and this debate'- BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal on Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma debate

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the modern-day greats of India and world cricket who have gone on to shatter a plethora of batting records in their respective international careers. However, there have been a lot of rumors over the years that the duo does not share a good rapport with each other and these rumors spread like wildfire after India’s semifinal exit from the 2019 World Cup.

Lately, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal has come forward and said that the Kohli vs Rohit debate is not the first occasion in Indian cricket that has speculated about an alleged rift between the two star players, but this has been happening for decades which also involved Sunil Gavaskar-Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly as topics of discussion.

On social media, matters amplify to an extent that people believe all this is true: Arun Dhumal

“We never think about it. It is the passion of fans that drives them and this debate. When you are attached to an emotion, then you tend to say all that. And social media is a platform where you can talk about anything. They speak their heart out because there are no restrictions. That is why people think it persists. We saw the same with Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, or later between Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. On social media, matters amplify to an extent that people believe all this is true,” Dhumal told veteran journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel.

When Kohli and Rohit themselves were asked by the media whether all was well between them, they made it clear instantly not to get carried away by such speculations as they have a mutual admiration for each other.

This was evident when Virat had defended the ‘Hitman’ during a post-match press conference after last year’s T20 World Cup group clash between India and Pakistan where the latter had got out for a duck.

Last month, even Rohit Sharma showed faith in a struggling Virat Kohli saying that he would bounce back from this lean patch. Sharma had made this statement during a pre-match media interaction ahead of the third ODI against England.