Reports of alleged rift between Rohit and Kohli are absolute nonsense, says Ravi Shastri

Last month, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar came forward and said that the alleged rift between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will haunt the duo forever, thanks to the media outlets blowing up the matter to unimaginable levels. That very statement seems to be making more sense by the passing day as despite a successful tour of the Caribbean, questions are once again being raised on the sanctity of relationship between Kohli and Rohit.

But one person who absolutely does not buy into these reports is India's head coach Ravi Shastri, who has outrightly rubbished claims of any problems between the duo. Shastri admitted that there are bound to be difference in opinions due to the sheer number of individuals in the squad, but insisted that it works perfectly for him, as he wishes to see inputs from several players. He believes that it's silly to categorize conflict in opinions as a potential rift. 

"In a side when you have 15 players there will always be times when there will be opinions that will be different. That is what is needed. I don't want everyone toeing the same line," Shastri told Gulf News, reported Times of India.

"You have got to have discussions and someone might then think of a fresh strategy which has to be encouraged. So you have to give the guys the opportunity to express themselves and then decide what is best.

"Sometimes it might be the junior most player in the team who may come up with a strategy which we hadn't even thought of and we need to bring that to the table. So these should not be seen as a conflict," he added.

Shastri further stated that the dressing room within the team was perfectly fine and went on to praise the players for their selflessness and work ethic. He then further went on to cite the performances of Rohit and Kohli in the recent past to add substance to his argument of things being fine between the duo. 

"Listen, I have been around the dressing room for the last five years. I have seen how the boys have played and how they have complemented the team and know their work ethics. I feel it is absolute nonsense," Shastri said.

"If that was the case why would Rohit get five hundreds in the World Cup? Why would Virat do what he is doing? How would they have partnerships together?" he asked.

The 57-year-old went on to state that the current Indian team are already building a legacy like the West Indies of the 80s and the Australia of the early 2000s and lavished praise on the Kohli-led team.

"This kind of consistency I have not seen any time. We have a legacy like the West Indies did in the eighties and Australia did at the turn of the century. This team too has an opportunity to leave that kind of legacy and they are already doing it.

"Look at how we have performed in T20, one-dayers and Tests and even in the big ICC tournaments, it is unbelievable," he added.