Chetan Sharma further called Virat Kohli an icon of Indian cricket.
In a sting operation conducted by Zee News, Chetan had made inappropriate remarks about Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Panseveralnumber of other players in the team.
Chetan Sharma had allegedly revealed his internal discussions with head coach Rahul Dravid and Kohli, who was captain at that time. He also alleged that a lot of players take injections to expedite their return to competitive cricket despite being 80 to 85 percent fit.
This led to Chetan Sharma having to resign from his post as chief of the BCCI selection committee.
Clarifying his unsavory comments for Virat Kohli, in his first interview since the sting operation, Chetan Sharma said that he considers the Delhi batter as his son and would not speak ill of him.
"Virat Kohli is like my son, and why would I say bad things about him? I always pray for his well-being. I hope he comes back and scores centuries to reach the 100-ton mark in international cricket. Virat is an icon of Indian cricket. I am waiting for his return," Chetan told News 24 in an interview.
He also lauded current India captain Rohit Sharma and said that he has sacrificed a lot for the team.
"Rohit Sharma is among the few players who sacrificed himself for the team. He led from the front, and once your openers score 80 runs in 10 overs, the rest of the batters can take the total to 300 runs.
Rohit started going after the bowlers in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, but his plans didn't succeed due to pitches and some other reasons, but he was on top of his game in the ODI World Cup. India crushed the opponents in the event," he added.
(News 24 inputs)