Virat Kohli: People who blamed Anushka Sharma should be ashamed

Virat Kohli unhappy with the criticism he has received

Virat Kohli, India’s Test captain, has said that he was ‘hurt’ and ‘disappointed’ by the extreme criticism he received on both personal and professional fronts after India’s exit from the 2015 ICC World Cup. Kohli’s performance in the semi-final against Australia came under immense scrutiny from certain sections of the media.

Some angry fans even targeted and blamed his Bollywood actress girlfriend Anushka Sharma for his failure to perform.

Kohli slams critics

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain opened up for the first time since the World Cup exit and stated that such critics should be ashamed of their behaviour and that no Indian player had performed as consistently as him over the last few years.

Kohli, who finished as the third best Indian batsman in terms of runs at the World Cup an aggregate of 305, including a century against arch-rivals Pakistan in the tournament opener, said: “Personally I was very disappointed. I don't think anyone has helped India win as many matches or performed as consistently as I have in the last five years."

The 26-year-old felt that such reactions were undue after failing to perform in only one innings.

”After that, to see such reactions after just one poor innings was very disappointing. What it does is it makes you lose faith in a lot of people. It's a good thing in a way - you get to know who's with you and who's not. It was indeed a very difficult, well, not difficult because it's not in my control. But the reactions were very disappointing," he said.

Kohli hurt by personal attacks

Speaking about Anushka, he stated that the criticism levelled at her hurt him at a personal level.

"At a human level, I would say I was hurt. And the people that said things and the way they were said, they should be ashamed of themselves.”

Kohli also lashed out sarcastically against the double standards of critics in regards to his batting form.

"I never know when my rough patch comes or when I am in form. It is for you all to decide - you make the judgements better than I do. It is funny because there are some standards a player sets for himself over a period of time and I like to perform consistently.

"So in my case if I don't do well in two games it is a dip in form whereas for some of the other players they perform two games out of ten they come back in form. I don't understand that and I don't really pay attention to it. It is how you hit the ball on that particular day. In my mind I am really more confident than I have been ever in my life," the Delhi-born batsman added.

RCB will start their IPL 2015 campaign when they face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on April 11.