The thrilling Super Four contest between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan may have ended but the controversies aren't. Virat Kohli first impressed with a sedate 60 off 44 for the losing cause and then followed it up by dropping bombshell in the post match press conference which ruffled up some feathers.
For the first time after relinquishing Test captaincy, Kohli addressed a full fledged press conference as he made some shocking revelation on Sunday's night. He claimed that nobody texted him except MS Dhoni after stepping down from Test captaincy. In the same breath he also said that a lot of people gave suggestions on TV, and they have a lot to say but all those who had his number, no one messaged him.
Now, legendary cricketer and former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has strongly retorted to Kohli's claim in an exclusive Interview with Sports Tak.
On being asked about Virat's claim of not getting any message from anyone after stepping down from Test captaincy, Gavaskar said,"It's hard to say anything on this because had he taken the name of the player, he could have asked why he did not contact. What I heard was that he was saying MS Dhoni texted Kohli he relinquished Test captaincy. We do not know which message it was. In my case, when I left captaincy in 1985, Madan Lal was with me at that time in the World Championship of Cricket. So that evening after the match we all hugged each other and enjoyed a lot as we lifted the trophy. What else you want? Which message do you want? I don't know. Not just this, I played cricket with the same teammates without anything in my head."
“Only if you take the name, one can know which player you're taking about or alluding to. We all know who is on TV and who is not. If your intention is to drop a hint at them, why not ask them directly as to why they didn't send any message to them. And secondly, what sort of message was needed. A message of encouragement or something else? Because all the encouragement happened after stepping down from captaincy, isn't it?,” he further added.
He felt rather when one leaves captaincy, the best part is about being able to focus solely on one's game.
"Now you are playing only as a cricketer. So focus on that role because when you are the captain, you think about and worry about your mates. Once captaincy is over, it's time to focus on your own game," the legendary opener said.
Kohli's 60-run knock went in vain as India lost the match by five wickets. Right after the match, he addressed the post match press conference and said," “I can tell you one thing. And that is when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person with whom I had played earlier, and that is MS Dhoni. This is when many people had my number. A lot of people gave suggestions on TV, and they have a lot to say but all those who had my number, no one messaged me. So the thing is, when there is respect, when you have a connection such as this, it shows, because there is security both ways. I don't want anything from him and neither does he. I have never been insecure of him and neither has he”.
