Amid rift speculations between captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma, Team India departed for a month-long tour of West Indies on Monday (July 29).
Kohli and company will kick-start the tour with two T20Is in Florida, US before moving to the Caribbean for another T20I, three ODIs and two Tests.
Hours after the team left for the US, India vice-captain Rohit Sharma took to Twitter and posted his picture from the recent World Cup campaign with a caption reading: "I don't just walk out for my Team. I walk out for my country."
Ever since India's ouster from the World Cup 2019, the reports of rift between Kohli and Rohit have been doing the rounds. The speculations intensified even more after Rohit "unfollowed" India captain's spouse, Anushka Sharma, on Instagram last week.
However, Virat had categorically denied the rumours while addressing the media before departing for the West Indies tour, starting August 3.
"In my opinion, it's baffling. It's absolutely ridiculous to read such stuff. I've been to few public events. Everyone comes up and says we have respect for you. And here we are feeding off lies and overlooking facts. We are turning a blind eye to all the good things that have happened and creating fantasies and scenarios in our heads, and want to accept that this is the truth,” he told reporters in Mumbai.
"I've seen this for too long now, bringing personal lives into the picture. It's disrespectful beyond a point, honestly. I've played the game for 11 years, Rohit has played for 10 years. It's bizarre that people are creating this stuff on the outside. You guys come to the change room and see, we can't make videos and show you guys. It baffles you as a leader, coach and a team when lies are being floated around. They are made to look like they are believable. It's disrespectful," the Indian captain added.
Head coach Ravi Shastri had also dismissed the speculations, saying: "The way this team plays, no individual is bigger than the game. The way they play is in the interest of the team. You cannot have the kind of consistency across all formats if you have rifts or divisions or whatever. It is not possible. I've been a part of that dressing room for some time, and none of that nonsense is there."
