Former Indian captain Virat Kohli recently made headlines when he claimed that no one reached out to him personally during a difficult moment. Following Pakistan's five-wicket victory over India in the Asia Cup Super 4 match on Sunday, Kohli addressed the PC and detailed his attitude at the time, citing an example from January. An emotional Kohli claimed a lack of support after stepping down as India's Test captain, claiming that no one messaged him except MS Dhoni.
"When I left the Test captaincy, MS Dhoni was the only one among all the cricketers I had played with before who texted me. A lot of people have my number but he was the only one who texted me. It comes from the genuine respect that we have for each other. There is no insecurity from either end in our equation. These things matter. I live my life with honesty and these things matter for me. I just want to say this, if I have to tell someone about their game, I reach out individually. Even if I have to reach out to them, I do it personally," Kohli had said.
Kohli's fiery response shows that he was deeply upset by the entire captaincy crisis, which saw the BCCI remove him as India's ODI captain immediately after he opted to resign as T20I captain following the World Cup last year. However, it appears that Kohli's statements were not well welcomed by certain ex-India cricketers.
After former captain Sunil Gavaskar speculated on what Kohli might have been expecting said it would have been only fair if Virat had named the people, legendary India all-rounder Madan Lal has also questioned the timing of the comment and believes that it could prove to be a distraction during a tournament as important as the Asia Cup.
"Virat should not have made such a remark at this time. As you can see, you're playing vital matches in the middle of a tournament in which you need to qualify for the final. It's great to see you back on track. If you are in difficulties, you must work on it whether someone calls or not. He should have mentioned that a few months ago as well. You must tackle it yourself if you are not in the finest of health. Here, ego should not clash", Lal said on Sports Tak.
Earlier, speaking on the same Sunil Gavaskar felt that it would have only been fair had Kohli named the people who did not get in touch with him.
"It's impossible to tell who Virat is referring to. If he took any names, you can then go to that person and inquire if you contacted him or not. According to what I've heard, he's talking about solely MSD calling him after he left Test captaincy "Gavaskar explained.
"If he's talking about former players who have played with him, we all know who they are. He should identify the player to whom he is referring. Inquire with them, "Kya Bhai aapne koi Message nahi kiya?" (Bro, you didn't message me?) ".
Gavaskar also questioned the rationale behind Kohli's remark, offering a harsh response to what was an explosive disclosure.
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