After helping India beat England in all three formats of the game, skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma will resume their rivalry on April 9 in the lung opener of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. It will be another chapter in their famed rivalry, which many believed has extra spice due to some rift. (More Cricket News)
It's worth noting that, after India's ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final defeat to New Zealand, reports emerged that there is a rift between the two leaders. Reacting to the reported fall-out, legendary Sunil Gavaskar haad even said that "Virat and Rohit can shout from the rooftops as much as they can but this story won't end."
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It apparently started after Rohit unfollowed Anushka Sharma -- Kohli's wife -- on Instagram. The Bollywood actor then posted a cryptic story, which many believed was aimed at Rohit. “A wise man once said nothing. Only truth can shake hands with silence in a mess of false appearances."
In the aftermath of India's exit from the World Cup in England, certain Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) functionaries even mooted the idea of split captaincy.
Then, Kohli insisted that they "had no issues," and added: "If I don’t like somebody, it shows on my face. I have also heard a lot in past few days, but if team atmosphere wasn’t good, we couldn’t have played well."
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And the matter never found a closer despite vehement denials to the rift story from both the players.
Now, according to reports, Kohli and Rohit have found time and space to sit across the table and "talk it out". TOI, citing sources in the know of things, reported that the stars batsmen have renewed their friendship and are ready for a fresh start. All thanks to their time together inside the bio-bubble and also the team management with head coach Ravi Shastri playing the role of a peace broker.
"Apart from winning two big series, that's been the biggest gain inside the Team India dressing room. A great deal of personal bonding has happened in recent weeks and they're more in sync now than ever with regards to their cricket, the team, their responsibilities and the upcoming challenges," a source was quoted as saying.
During the recent series against, Kohli and Rohit opened India's innings and their bonhomie was there to see for all. "They understand now, more than ever, that the team will only benefit if they find themselves on the same page. This has been the biggest takeaway in the last four months," the source added.
The report further adds that there has been a conscious effort from the duo to spend a lot of time talking to each other in public.
"They have been appearing in photographs together a lot more than in the past. During the One-day series, Virat made it a point to keep his discussions on with Rohit constantly during the game. These things would happen earlier too, but this one time they’ve decided to make it more visible for outsiders to know that all this chatter now needs to stop," the source added.
