Shikhar Dhawan, who is hailed as one of the best left-handers to bat for the Indian cricket team, opened up about the misunderstandings and ego clashes in the Indian cricket team.
For the unversed, rumors of a rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been there in the media for a long time and were recently confirmed in a revelation on former India coach Ravi Shastri in the R Sridhar, ex-India fielding coach’s latest book ‘Coaching Beyond’.
Sridhar’s book revealed that the rift had begun during India’s 2019 World Cup campaign where team India had suffered an embarassing semi-final exit to New Zealand. Sridhar revealed how Ravi Shastri had to sit with the two stalwarts of the Indian cricket team upon their arrival in Unites States for the T20I series against West Indies.
“We landed in the United States (US) some 10 days after the World Cup for a T20 series against West Indies in Lauderhill. One of the first things Ravi did on arrival was to call Virat and Rohit to his room and impress upon them that for Indian cricket to be healthy, they needed to be on the same page. ‘Whatever happened on social media, that’s all fine, but you two are the most senior cricketers so this must stop,’ Ravi said in his typical no-nonsense manner. ‘I want you to put all this behind and get together for us to move forward’,” Sridhar wrote in his book.
Shikhar Dhawan on ego clashes between Rohit and Kohli
In an interview with Aaj Tak, Shikhar Dhawan was asked if ego clashes existed in the Indian side with reference to the rumors of rift between Kohli and Rohit. However, Dhawan remained tightlipped on the two players but went on to admit that misunderstandings and ego clashes were common in the Indian cricket team. He said:
“It’s a very human and normal thing to have egos. We are together for (almost) 220 days. Sometimes there are misunderstandings between people. It’s the same with us as well. I am not speaking about Rohit (Sharma) or Virat (Kohli), but a general thing,”
He added: “We have a 40-member team, which includes support staff and managers. There could be some clashes and times when you are not happy with someone. It happens. And why not? When things improve, the love also increases,”
