Virat Kohli rubbishes rumours regarding possible rift within the Indian team

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has put all rumours regarding a possible rift with Rohit Sharma to rest in an official press conference before departing for the long tour of the West Indies on Monday.

Several media reports claimed that all is not well within the Indian team as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had formed separate camps. This was on the back of speculations that the BCCI was thinking about split captaincy for the national team. Legendary former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar also criticised the panel of selectors for not officially re-appointing Virat Kohli as the captain after the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

However, Virat Kohli himself denied those allegations and lashed out at such reports. "It is baffling to read (reports of an alleged rift). We are feeding off lies, overlooking facts & turning a blind eye to all the good things that have happened. It is disrespectful," Kohli said.

"If the team environment wasn't good, we would not have been able to play as consistently as we have been playing for the last two-three years. I have played for 11 years now, Rohit has played for a decade. It's bizarre that people are creating this stuff on the outside when the dressing room atmosphere is great."

"If I don't like a person then you will see it on my face or in my behaviour, that is how simple it is. I have always praised Rohit because I believe that he is that good. We have no issues. It is kind of baffling, don't know who is benefiting from all of this." he added.

Coach Ravi Shastri also echoed Kohli's statement regarding this issue.

"You cannot have this consistency across all three formats if these rifts or divisions were true. So none of this nonsense is there. No individual is bigger than the game. There is no rift between the two." Shastri said.

India's tour of the West Indies will start with the T20I series in Florida which begins on 3rd August.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IND vs WI live score, IND vs WI schedule 2019, news, results, points table, most runs, most wickets and fantasy tips.