“Players Know Captain will never humiliate them Publicly,” says Nikhil Chopra on Rohit Sharma’s defence of Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli hasn’t been enjoying the best time with the bat but he is getting a lot of backing from current India captain Rohit Sharma. Kohli could amass only 26 runs in the three-match ODI series against West Indies and was dismissed for just 17 again in the first T20I of the ongoing three-match series.

These kind of performances raise questions over the state of his mind after he had to step down from captaincy from all formats.

Before the first T20I, Rohit was asked about Kohli’s frame of mind right now and how he is dealing with his poor patch of form, to which he replied, “It starts from you guys (media). If you guys keep quiet for a while, he’ll be alright. If you don’t do much talking from your side, everything will be taken care of.”

Rohit earned a lot of praise on social media for the way he backed Kohli in the press conference. Former India cricketer Nikhil Chopra also feels that Rohit’s statement sends out a strong message to the Indian dressing room that every played will be backed no matter how bad a patch they are going through.

“I had said earlier as well that Rohit is the right candidate for captaincy because he has earned the respect of the dressing room. Everyone knows that the captain will back them even if they are not able to perform a specific role given to them. Players know the captain will never humiliate them publicly and keep backing them completely,” Chopra said on the Khelneeti podcast.

Kohli’s last international hundred came against Bangladesh in 2019 and Kohli will be eager to reach the three-figure mark again soon. Chopra also went on to highlight the empty stands in absence of the crowds in the grounds right now and told how Kohli thrives as a player in the presence of the fans at the stadium.

“I am not saying that it is happening with Kohli. But when a player receives appreciation for hitting fours and sixes, he feeds off that energy. In empty stadiums, your concentration might be affected as there is no reaction to big hits. We know a lot of players who take strength from crowd’s energy. Maybe, it might be affecting him a little bit,” Chopra further added.