A lot has been going on in the cricket world lately. While some ugly controversies have gripped Indian cricket, on the other hand, the Indian cricket team has arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa for the upcoming series. However, ahead of the much-awaited crucial series, in a major blow, team India’s new Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the three-match Test series against South Africa.
The 34-year-old cricketer was recently promoted as the Vice-Captain of the team and he looked all set to play the series opener in Centurion but in an unfortunate turn of events, he was ruled out of the upcoming series and Priyank Panchal was called as his cover.
However, ever since the news of his exclusion from the squad came out, the internet has been buzzing with rumors and speculations of a possible rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The speculations started after Virat Kohli was sacked from the captaincy of white-ball cricket and Rohit was named as the new ODI and T20I skipper. A report in Times Of India revealed that the selectors decided on Thursday to give some rest to Rohit Sharma. There have been several reports making rounds on social media that state that the BCCI has ruled out Rohit Sharma in order to cut the chances of a rift as Virat Kohli will be leading the team in the Test series.
Fact Check:
The rumors of Rohit Sharma not playing in the upcoming Test series because of Virat Kohli is completely false as the star opener is currently working at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to regain his full fitness.
Rohit Sharma alongwith Ravindra Jadeja, both the cricketers were recently spotted at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to regain their full fitness. While Rohit has sustained a left hamstring injury during his training session in Mumbai, on other hand, Jadeja suffered a right forearm injury during the first Test match in Kanpur. After undergoing scans, he was diagnosed with a swelling on his forearm. Only players who are injured are trained at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
A picture of Rohit Sharma at the NCA was shared by Delhi’s Yash Dhull, India U-19 captain.
Recently, in the pre-departure press conference, Virat Kohli also brushed aside the rumors by clarifying that there is no rift between Rohit and him. Talking about which, he admitted that he is now tired of clarifying the same from the last two years. He said:
“I can understand the reasons. BCCI has taken the reasons from a logical point of view. There is no problem between me and Rohit Sharma. I have been clarifying for the past two years and I am tired. None of my actions or decisions will be to take the team down.”
Virat even admitted that the side will miss the services of the experienced duo in the red-ball series against South Africa. He had said:
“We will miss his (Sharma) abilities a lot. He has proven in England already that he has really worked his Test game out and the opening partnership was very important for us to play the way we did in the series. With his experience and skill, we will miss his qualities,” said Kohli.
“But having said that, I think it’s an opportunity for someone like Mayank (Agarwal) and KL (Rahul) to step up and solidify that start that we got in the last series and make sure that the good work is carried on in this series as well,” he added.
Our opinion:
We would like to request the fans to not believe in the reports and rumors speculating on the possible rift between both the cricketers. These reports are only adding more fuel to the already burning controversies and therefore, the fans should not pay any heed to such baseless rumors making rounds on social media, to tarnish the image of players, especially at this time when the Indian cricket team is going to lock horns against South Africa in a crucial series.
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