In an interview, Robin Uthappa talked candidly about his previous remarks that unintentionally damaged his relationship with Virat Kohli. Uthappa criticized Kohli's captaincy interview and his treatment of Ambati Rayudu, who was left out of India's 2019 ODI World Cup squad, in that podcast.

As India prepared for the 2019 World Cup, Rayudu was primed to be their best batter at the contentious no. 4 spot. The BCCI selectors chose all-rounder Vijay Shankar instead, disregarding Rayudu's Indian performances.

Uthappa had publicly criticized Kohli's leadership for the way Rayudu and Yuvraj Singh’s exits were handled. Yuvraj Singh, the 2011 World Cup winner, was dropped from India's team in 2017 and retired in 2019 without receiving a final farewell.

Uthappa explained that he, not Kohli, was the intended subject of the chat. However, his comments damaged their relationship and made him realize the importance of discussing personal opinions privately before speaking out.

"In that whole conversation, the intent was not to speak about Virat. That interview was meant to be about me. I was asked a question, which I spoke to. I didn't take into consideration at that point the sentiments of Virat or the fact that even if this is what I believe, he should know what I believe, and that gives me the right to voice that. My relationship, or my camaraderie, with Virat was impacted by that. I saw that for what it was, just based on that one-on-one relationship. My learning from that was, when I spoke to him about it, I acknowledged that I should have spoken to him before, even if it was what I believed," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

Uthappa, who was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team, further stated that though he had the right to air his views with freedom, he realized later that he had talked to Kohli in private beforehand, before he shared his views with the world.

"I didn't speak about my experience with Virat. I spoke about what I saw one of my closest friends experience under his leadership. It wasn't even his leadership; it was the style of leadership. Everyone is entitled to have their own style of leadership, and everyone is entitled to have their own opinion. I felt, at least for my relationship with him, I should have spoken to him about it before I spoke about it on national television. That was my learning from that, and I think that sensitivity we must extend to cricketers or people in the same fraternity," he added.

India was defeated by New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. Virat Kohli stepped down as India captain in 2022 and has now retired from T20Is and Tests.