The Indian cricket team has weathered multiple major controversies over its history including speculations about a possible rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. This controversy took place after the 2019 World Cup and rumours about the team being divided into two groups led by Kohli and Sharma spread like fire.
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Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar addressed the incident in his new book, 'Coaching Beyond' and stated how days after the World Cup, then-Indian coach Ravi Shastri took major steps to resolve the issue. The head coach called both Kohli and Sharma and asked them to end any animosity as these rumours were damaging the Indian team.
Sridhar, in his book, said, "We landed in the United States (US) some 10 days after the World Cup for a T20 series against West Indies in Lauderhill. One of the first things Ravi did on arrival was to call Virat and Rohit to his room and impress upon them that for Indian cricket to be healthy, they needed to be on the same page. 'Whatever happened on social media, that's all fine, but you two are the most senior cricketers so this must stop,' Ravi said in his typical no-nonsense manner. 'I want you to put all this behind and get together for us to move forward'".
The 52-year-old then talked about how Shastri’s actions had an immediate impact as the atmosphere in the team was better. Sridhar also spoke about how these actions were a staple of Shastri’s tenure as the Indian coach as he bolstered a ‘one for all, all for one, but team above all' attitude.
"You could see that things started to get better after that. Ravi's action was swift, simple and decisive. It was just getting both the guys together, sitting them down and making them talk. Ravi didn't waste any time doing so. That he felt encouraged to call the white-ball captain and his deputy to clearly state his mind is indicative of the kind of atmosphere we had facilitated. That Virat and Rohit saw reason in Ravi's stance and immediately got down to business was the mutilate tribute to our culture 'one for all, all for one, but team above all'," added Sridhar.
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