'Hurt' Virat Kohli lashes out at former India players, reveals who he goes to for advice on the field

Virat Kohli celebrates India’s series win over South Africa

India Test captain Virat Kohli, riding the crest of the twin series wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa, spoke his mind on the ‘atmosphere of negativity’ in India, criticising former India players for their harmful views on the national team’s wins.

Saying that such comments hurt him and make him lose a lot of respect for them, Kohli suggested that these legends should come to individual players to share their views instead of stating them to the media.

Kohli said, "It obviously hurts when people who have played the game themselves make such comments. I am not saying all of them do it. Some of them understand the mindset of the players, having gone through similar situations in their careers. They lend you support, say the right thing and even help you with certain technicalities. But some people like to focus on the negatives.

“Growing up, you have looked up to these people and when you hear such comments from them you lose a bit of respect for them. It would be more respectful of them to come up and speak to a player individually if they feel there is some flaw that needs to be corrected.”

No names of legends were taken during Kohli’s diatribe, and he also did not name the first class cricketers he had in mind, against whom he brought a veiled jibe as well.

He said, "Someone who hasn't played for the country has no right in any way to comment on an international cricketer. I don't think that has any kind of logic. You cannot sit there and say how you would have done something differently when you have not been in that situation yourself.”

A captain needs somebody like Ashwin around: Kohli

Kohli pointed out senior pros Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin for special praise in the way they have taken up the responsibility of leading the Indian bowling attack. He also pointed out the overall domination that the Indian team have enjoyed over South Africa, in terms of top performers with both bat and ball.

He said, "I am very pleased to see Ishant taking up the role of the leader of the pace attack, and he is actually feeling like one.

“Ashwin has always been a champion bowler. I keep picking his brain on the field. In difficult situations, I keep asking him what should be done. He gives me proper insight. As a captain, you need a few people like that around. You cannot possibly think of everything at all times. Ashwin, Ajinkya, Ishant, Rohit – I keep speaking to these guys because they think about the game and analyse what’s going on in the field," he said.

"In this series, four of the top five run-getters were Indians. Top two wicket-takers were Indians. We have had no excuses, we played honest cricket and we got the results in our favour.”

With his trusted aides surrounding him, captain Kohli is looking forward to leading India to many series wins, without any help from the critics.