Rohit Sharma's statement on Virat Kohli should have come sooner: Former India cricketer Atul Wassan

By Vivek Prabhakar Singh
New Delhi [India], February 15 (ANI): Former India cricketer Atul Wassan feels that India's white-ball captain Rohit Sharma should have come in support of Virat Kohli much earlier than the rumours of a rift between him and Kohli surfaced. India's white-ball captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday had lashed out at the media in support of Virat Kohli saying that "If you guys (journalists) can keep it quiet for a while, everything will fall into place."
To this, former India cricketer, Atul Wassan told ANI "I think this should have come sooner because the rumours emanating from the Indian dressing room and camp that there is a rift between Rohit and Virat which is unfounded and I think every player has got some issues and it doesn't mean that they try to perform and under-perform when somebody else is the captain. I think this was historically done when Bishan Singh Bedi versus Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev versus Sunil Gavaskar used to happen. These guys are professionals these days. They play with each other, against each other and they play around. IPL is a perfect example. So, I think they travel so many months of the year together. So, I think they live like families. So, some kind of proximity breeds contempt that is pretty true. Something might happen but that should not be blown out of proportion that it should hamper the team's morale Rohit has done the right thing by coming out in the open and I agree that there is too much chatter about Virat and it is natural. You know the kind of brilliant player he has been and the kind of shots he has invented. Especially the one from outside the off stump into the mid-wicket area for the fast bowlers that can happen when you are in the prime of your youth between 28 to 30. When I was talking to Kapil Dev eyesight suddenly drops and suddenly you find the shots you are missing. If he is a great player like Tendulkar like when he had a tennis elbow then he corrected himself and he started the bottom hand play. So, he changed his technique to survive another few years and I am sure Virat will do that too. "
India will take on West Indies in the first of the three-match T20I series in Kolkata on Wednesday and from here on every match is seen as a preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
"I think it is very natural and every team prepares for the world cup and you got to keep all the players who are in the squad in the mix and you can't just bet on a certain number of players and find out if someone gets injured or something else happens. So, whatever the number of players in the pool like those 30 players they have to be given a chance till the World Cup squad is chosen and I think IPL will also help the selectors a lot because the current form is very important." explained former India cricketer Atul Wassan to ANI.
The Indian team will be without the services of in-form opener KL Rahul in the 3-match T20I series as he is suffering from a hamstring injury. Spin all-rounder Washington Sundar too suffered a hamstring strain during the ODI series against the West Indies. Kuldeep Yadav has been named as his replacement in the T20I squad.
"Not really because there is too much happening we as cricket analysts do cricket review and know what is happening on that day and I think as long as each squad has got a lot of potential replacements it doesn't really matter who is missing. Players will get injured, Sundar has got injured but we won't miss him because there is somebody waiting in the way for the team and I think you will find a way to find performers coming into the team because these players are ready. There are big names playing in the IPL every year around. So, they are not in awe or fear of big names on the national stage." said Atul Wassan to ANI.
KL Rahul's absence comes as a boon for wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant as the southpaw is named as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the T20I series against West Indies.
"I am very proud because I was the one who made him captain of Delhi removing Gautam Gambhir and everybody was against me that how can you make somebody as irresponsible as Rishabh Pant the captain and this is what happens when you give the responsibility then you get future stars and you got to groom leaders in the team. There are always few options available for India. " told Atul Wassan. (ANI)