Virat Kohli should have named those who didn't get in touch to be fair to everyone concerned, remarks Sunil Gavaskar

Virat Kohli's statements in the press conference following India's loss against Pakistan at the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday made headlines globally and have now provoked a response from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Kohli had revealed how his former skipper MS Dhoni was the only player that messaged him when news of Virat quitting test captaincy broke out, using it as an example of genuine friendship while discarding any advice offered by experts to him in public. Gavaskar believes the talismanic batsman's comments are incomplete since they fail to specify the people who defied expectations by not offering support to the 33-year-old, assuming ignorance of the environment that prevails in the Indian dressing room.  

"I don't know what the dressing room inside situation was with all these other players, I think, ideally, if he is named one person who got in touch, maybe the other people who didn't get in touch should have also been named. Then that would have been a little bit fair to everyone concerned rather than thinking everybody else didn't get in touch with him," he was quoted saying by India Today.

Kohli had further remarked upon the welcome he had received upon his return to the national squad after an extended recovery break that saw him miss the tours of the Caribbean and Zimbabwe. To this, Gavaskar opined that all such public assertions are meaningless considering no player can afford to criticize the men at the helm if they want to survive in a team. 

"I am just saying what I feel when I hear the comments coming about the current leadership. One of the most futile questions that I hear during an IPL Q and A session between the commentators and the Man of the Match asking about the current coach and the current captain," he postulated.

"Is that current player ever going to say anything against the current captain and coach? That's a futile question. Nobody, anybody, who is mindful of his career, is going to cut his feet by saying something stupid about the current regime."

Regardless of any war of words, Kohli has certainly regained his form on the cricket field with scores of 35, 59*, and 60 in the ongoing Asia Cup. His next challenge awaits at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday in the form of neighbours Sri Lanka.