New Delhi: Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has said that Virat Kohli will continue to score runs despite not being the captain of the team anymore, and rubbished speculation about a rift between Rohit Sharma and the former skipper.
Earlier in December last year, Kohli had also cleared the air on rumours that he has a rift with Rohit, saying he was tired of answering the same question again and again when he was addressing the press.
Kohli now played under Rohit for the first time in ODI cricket as the latter took over as India’s full-time captain in limited-overs in India’s first ODI against the West Indies on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
Gavaskar told Star Sports, “Why would they not be getting along? They are playing for India. All these talks about two players not gelling is always speculation.”
“According to reliable sources or allegedly or reportedly. Nobody actually tells you and this has been happening for years. And these guys don’t even bother about it. You wouldn’t even bother about this kind of speculation because you yourself know what the truth is. And so there is nothing,” he added.
Gavaskar said there is no way Kohli will not be thinking of performing under Rohit’s captaincy.
“There are often speculations that the captain who is now a player in the team will not want the new captain to succeed. This is nonsense. Because if he doesn’t score runs or a bowler doesn’t pick wickets then he is going to be out of the team,” Gavaskar added.
“He has already lost the captaincy or opted out of captaincy, now you don’t contribute with the bat or ball then you are going to be out of the team. So all these talks are mere speculations from people who have nothing better to do and are trying and creating stories.
“Kohli will get runs whether he is playing under Rohit or anybody else. He is going to score runs for India,” Gavaskar said.
India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and they will be looking to wrap up the ODI series when they face West Indies in Ahmedabad in the second ODI on Wednesday.