Rohit Sharma finally reacts on Virat Kohli bad form critics

England managed to beat India by 17 runs to eke out a consolation win in the third and final T20I, at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Sunday. Rohit Sharma finally reacts on Virat Kohli bad form critics. Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma responded to Virat Kohli’s critics amid his ongoing lean patch for the Men in Blue. Kohli’s struggles with the willow continued in the third and final T20I against England in Nottingham as he was once again sent packing cheaply on just 11 runs in India’s 17-run defeat against the hosts.

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma was asked about Kohli’s concerning form post the team’s loss against England on Sunday. Virat Kohli, who came out to bat at his usual number 3 spot in the 216-run chase, looked in fine touch as he slammed a four and a six off David Willey before getting caught on the next delivery. Kohli was caught by Jason Roy trying to get another boundary in the third over from Willey.

Kohli has been enduring a rough patch with the bat in international cricket for quite some time now and has not scored a century for India since November 2019. His recent failures have also led to former cricketers and experts questioning his spot in India’s T20I team ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later this year.

However, despite the pressure mounting on Kohli, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has backed the batting maestro and defended him from his critics. Speaking at the post-match presser after India’s 2-1 series win against England, Rohit said form can go up and down but a player’s quality remains. The Hitman asserted that the Indian team management is aware of Kohli’s quality as a batter and will continue to back him.

“Form upar neeche hota hai, player (Virat Kohli) ka quality kabhi kharab nahi hota hai. (There will always be ups and downs in the cricketer’s form but players’ quality will never fade away.) We should always keep this in mind that there is a quality in certain players and we as a team back that quality,” Rohit Sharma told reporters when asked about Kohli’s poor form. “When someone is scoring consistently for so long, we can’t overlook his contribution if he is not scoring in one or two series or in one or two years.

We know the importance of Virat Kohli. The experts have got all the right to talk about it but for us, these things don’t matter,” he added. Recently, former India captain Kapil Dev had questioned Kohli’s spot in India’s T20I team following his dreadful run for the Men in Blue. Kapil had argued if a player like R Ashwin can be benched in Tests, Kohli too can be dropped from T20Is. Several other experts have also criticised Kohli for his woeful form.

Also Read: Venkatesh Prasad slams BCCI for still giving chance to Virat Kohli

Responding to Kohli’s critics, Rohit Sharma said the team doesn’t focus on the outside noise and the experts who want Kohli out of India’s T20I squad don’t know what is going on inside the dressing room. Extending his full support to Kohli, the Hitman assured he will continue to back the 33-year-old, who is regarded as one of the greatest batters of the generation.

Also Read: Virat Kohli poor form, out from ICC T20 World Cup

“We don’t listen much to the outside noise. I don’t know who these experts are. I don’t understand why they are called experts. They are watching the game from outside, they don’t know what is going on inside in the dressing room,” said Rohit.