‘Kuch toh log kehenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna’ - Virat Kohli responds to the criticism surrounding KL Rahul

India’s swashbuckling opening batsman KL Rahul has been suffering from a poor form with the willow for quite some time now. The batsman featured in the first four T20Is against England but returned with disappointing scores of 1, 0, 0, and 14. Though Rahul has constantly received the backing of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, he was dropped from the playing XI for the fifth T20I as India decided to go with six bowling options.

Rahul’s lean patch has raised a lot of eyebrows in the cricket fraternity with many coming up with their views and using stern words of criticism for the batsman. When asked about the same, Kohli slammed people for making their own judgments and having fun at the expense of a cricketer’s shoddy form. 

Virat also made a reference to a popular Bollywood song from the 1972 Rajesh Khanna-starrer Amar Prem to say that one should not focus much on outside news as people will always find some faults to complain about.

“The subject of form and out of form reminds me of the song – ‘Kuch toh log kehenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna. Chhodo bekaar ki baaton mein kaheen beet na jaaye rainaa’. There’s a lot of impatience outside the cricket setup, and everyone has a point of view. Some people form an opinion on what the player is thinking, and that becomes a judgment. When a player is down, some people enjoy having their fun at his expense and further pulling him down,” the Indian skipper said during a virtual press conference. 

From the start of my career till date, all these talks outside have remained rubbish for me: Virat Kohli

Further Virat Kohli backed Rahul saying that every player goes through a lean patch and needs to be supported to the hilt. Kohli asserted that one should refrain from listening to outside noise as it can be misleading. He also assured that the team management has a competent set-up to help out-of-form players.

“As a part of team management, we know how to manage this. Personally, the player suffers from a bit of a difficult phase. It’s not like he forgets how to play. It becomes a question of mental clarity, which takes a bit of a toll.

“All these outside talks are rubbish. From the start of my career till date, all these talks outside have remained rubbish for me. Why does one say something? What agenda the person has? For what a premise is being set? We don’t even let these thoughts enter the team, and even in the future, we will continue to do so. At the same time, we will continue to back our players and try and provide a good mental space for them,” Kohli concluded.