Stand-in captain KL Rahul was irked by a reporter's question on Virat Kohli ahead of India's first Test against Bangladesh, which begins in Chattogram on Wednesday.

Though Virat Kohli has already scored two centuries in international cricket this year and has shown glimpses of his old dominant self, questions regarding his form remain. In September, the Delhi-born cricketer finally ended his nearly three-year wait for an international ton, having slammed his maiden T20I hundred against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup.

Subsequently, Virat Kohli set the T20 World Cup in Australia on fire with a series of sublime knocks, including a sensational unbeaten 82-run-knock against Pakistan which many cricket pundits claimed was the best-ever innings in the format.

Yet Team India failed to win the competition, bowing out in the semifinals to eventual champions England. But Virat Kohli finished as the tournament's top-scorer with 296 runs in six matches at an incredible average of 98.66.

More recently, during the weekend, Virat Kohli Kohli brought an end to his ODI century drought as he smashed his 44th ton in the 50-over format against Bangladesh, going past Ricky Ponting to occupy the second spot in the list of men with the most international hundreds.

While it looks like Virat Kohli is back, there would be people who would continue to criticize him for his returns on the field. One such episode happened when KL Rahul spoke to the media before the opening Test match against Bangladesh in Chattogram. On Monday, KL Rahul was left fuming when a journalist asked him if he was worried about Virat Kohli's poor form in the longest format of the sport, to which he responded by blasting him.

Reporter: “Virat hasn't had a particularly good year as far as red-ball cricket is concerned. We all know how great a player he is. Now that he has got a T20 century and a hundred in the ODIs as well, do you think his ‘poor form' is behind now?”

KL Rahul: “We haven't really played too much Test cricket for you to pass that statement. He has been in good form; he has done really well for us in T20 cricket. Recently, he got that hundred against Bangladesh here. Obviously, he will take some confidence into the Test matches as well.”

“He's been around for so long. He is such an experienced player. His mindset, his passion for the team has always remained the same, the commitment that he gives for the team, it's been on show for everyone to see, you can't really question that. He is a great player and has always found a way to get runs and do the job for his team and I am sure he will do that again,” KL Rahul added.

Even former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif is a member of a gang of former cricketers who have been scathing in their criticism of Virat Kohli.

“It is not the time to count the number of centuries. It doesn’t matter. They need to win a title. It has been years since India won a trophy. Whether Kohli scores 100 centuries or 200, it doesn’t matter, what matters to Indian cricket and the fans is a title. If you look financially, IPL and Indian cricket are far ahead, but now there is pressure from the fans and the media that they want a title. Kohli can score 100 centuries if he wants, but the demand has changed. The Asia Cup is gone, so is Champions Trophy, the 2019 World Cup, the last two T20 World Cups. 100 centuries has its own place, but India and the Indian cricket board needs to win a title,” Rashid Latif said on his YouTube channel.

On Monday, the former India captain was in the news for his heartfelt tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Kohli is a Ronaldo fan and has often declared him the greatest footballer of all time ahead of his eternal rival Lionel Messi.

The Team India superstar, once again, called him the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in a viral Twitter post after Cristiano Ronaldo left the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar in tears.

CR7's dream of winning football's greatest competition came to an abrupt end on Saturday after Portugal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of giant killers Morocco in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Two days after an inconsolable Cristiano Ronaldo left the Middle East country, possibly ending his hopes of ever lifting the World Cup trophy, Virat Kohli took to Twitter to hail his impact on the global population in general and on youngsters in particular.

“No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you’ve done in this sport and for sports fans around the world. No title can explain the impact you’ve had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That’s a gift from god,” Virat Kohli wrote on the microblogging website.

“A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson. You are for me the greatest of all time,” he added.