A reporter's question on Virat Kohli's form irked India captain Rohit Sharma during the post-match press conference at Lord's on Thursday.
Virat Kohli looked good till he was there at the crease at the iconic venue as he struck a couple of beautiful boundaries but couldn't prolong his stay as he fell for 16 after being caught behind off the bowling of David Willey during the second ODI between England and India in London.
The opportunity was there for Virat Kohli to end his long wait for an international century after Team India lost skipper Rohit Sharma for zero early in their essay.
But as often the case with Virat Kohli, he poked at a wide off-stump delivery only to offer an easy catch to wicketkeeper and England captain Jos Buttler at the historic ground in the British capital.
According to stats from cricket data tracking sites, more than 84 percent of Virat Kohli's dismissals since 2019 have been on deliveries bowled outside the off-stump.
The Delhi-born cricketer had missed the first ODI due to a groin injury.
With Virat Kohli failing to end his rut, an eager journalist wanted to know the reasons behind the former India captain's downfall. Rohit Sharma, however, was in no mood to listen to him as he interrupted him before he could finish his question.
“Virat Kohli ke baare mein kaafi charcha ho rahi hai (A lot is being talked about Virat Kohli)…” before the India skipper stopped the scribe right there and asked… “Kyu ho rahi hi yaar? Mujhe toh samajh mein nahi aata bhai. Khair, puuuchiye?” (Why is he being discussed? I don't understand. Anyway, carry on)
The reporter asked if someone as good a Virat Kohli, who is going through a slump in form, needs the backing of the captain, coach and his teammates in the dressing room during tough times or was the team management was leaving him alone to figure out what was required to find his lost touch.
Rohit Sharma, like he had done in his last presser at The Oval, reiterated that the entire Indian cricket team, including head coach Rahul Dravid, were standing like a pillar behind Virat Kohli.
“He has played so many matches for so many years. He has been such a great batsman so he does not need reassurance. I think I said in the last press conference as well that form can go up and down. That is part and parcel of all the players' career. This happens with everyone. So a player who has won so many matches, needs only 1 or 2 innings. This is what I believe and I am sure rest feel the same way,” Rohit Sharma said.
“People keep talking about his form but we should realise that performances can always fluctuate but the quality of a player will never deteriorate. The guy has scored so many centuries, you look at his average. So he has the experience. But every player has gone through bad matches. There is no player who has played and always scored runs. A slump is inevitable, even in personal life,” Rohit Sharma added.
Rohit Sharma's response to the journalist's question went viral on the internet with the video receiving nearly 800,000K views on YouTube.
Even England captain Jos Buttler came out in Virat Kohli's defense.
“I suppose in a little way it’s quite refreshing for the rest of us that he [Kohli] is human and he can have a couple of low scores as well, but look he has been one of the best players, if not the best player in ODI cricket in the world,” Jos Buttler said in a media briefing at Lord's.
“So he's been a fantastic player for so many years and all batters, it just proves, go through runs of form where they don't perform as well as they can do sometimes, but certainly as an opposition captain, you know a player of that class is always due, so you're hoping that it doesn't come against us,” Jos Buttler continued.
“Yeah, incredibly surprised, as I said, his record speaks for himself. The matches he's won for India and yeah, why would you question that?” Jos Buttler concluded.
Before Virat Kohli joined the Rohit Sharma-led Team India in the second ODI, he featured in two T20I games against England but could only register scores of 1 and 11 in his innings at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge respectively.
He will return to action on Sunday when Rohit Sharma and his men will face Jos Buttler and company in the third and final ODI at Old Trafford in Manchester.