New Delhi: India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar is not happy with Virat Kohli’s comments that only former skipper MS Dhoni texted him after he quit Test captaincy in January this year, with the former great saying the people “who didn’t get in touch should have also been named”.
Following India’s loss to Pakistan in the thrilling Asia Cup Super Four game on September 4, Kohli in the post-match press conference caught everyone by surprise by saying, “When I left Test captaincy, I received a text from only one person that I have played with earlier, and that is MS Dhoni.
“Many people have my contact number, and there are many people who keep giving suggestions on TV, but I didn’t receive a message from any of them. So when a connection with any person is genuine enough, it comes out in such a manner, because there is a sense of security on both sides. Neither I want anything from him, nor does he want anything from me. And neither was I ever insecure of him, nor was he insecure of me about anything,” Kohli added.
Gavaskar said Kohli should also name the people who did not get in touch with him after he stepped down as Test captain, as it would be “a bit fair to everyone concerned”.
Gavaskar also said he was unaware of the dressing room atmosphere and why Kohli chose the post-match press conference to reveal such details.
“I don’t know what the dressing room inside situation was with all these other players, I think, ideally, if he is named one person who got in touch, maybe the other people who didn’t get in touch should have also been named. Then that would have been a little bit fair to everyone concerned rather than thinking everybody else didn’t get in touch with him,” Gavsakar told India Today.
Kohli had stepped down as T20I skipper following India’s dismal ICC T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE last year. The Delhi player was then stripped of his ODI captaincy before he gave up Test captaincy in January this year.
Kohli further said following his 44-ball 60 in a losing cause against Pakistan that if someone was actually interested in helping him out, they would have contacted him personally.
“If their criticism was genuine, they could have messaged me in person. The way I live my life with honesty, I would have talked one-on-one with a person that I wanted to help out.”
–IANS