As Rohit Sharma had to miss the entire series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury, the ongoing three-match ODI series is the first time he is leading the team since being appointed as the full-time captain of India’s 50-over team. It also marks the first occasion that former skipper Virat Kohli is playing under the captaincy of Rohit in international cricket.
With rumours of a rift between two-star batters doing the rounds over the last few months, all eyes of the cricket fans were on how the relationship between them will work. However, Virat was seen helping Rohit over the course of the game and even convinced him to successfully take the DRS. Both also warmly embraced each other following Yuzvendra Chahal’s dismissal of West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard.
Following India’s emphatic victory in the series opener which was the Men in Blue’s 1000th ODI, Gavaskar reacted to the rift speculation and claimed both Rohit and Virat will not even bother about it. “Why wouldn’t they be getting along? They are playing for India. All these talks that you generally hear about two players not gelling and etc. are all speculations.
“According to reliable sources or allegedly or reportedly. Nobody actually tells you and this has been happening for a years. And these guys don’t even bother about it. You wouldn’t even bother about these kind of speculations because you yourself know what the truth is. And so there is nothing,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports in the post-match show.
The legendary Indian cricketer also branded the stories about them not having a good relationship as ‘nonsense’ and claimed Virat has to perform to keep his place in the team. “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 asserted.
“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,” added Gavaskar.
India defeated West Indies by six wickets in the first game of the series at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The second and third games will be played at the same venue on Wednesday and Friday.
