
Virat Kohli attended India's post-match press conference after the Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue lost to Pakistan, by five wickets, in their Super Four clash at the Asia Cup on Sunday (September 04) in Dubai. After being India's top run-getter (44-ball 60), Kohli's efforts went in vain as Babar Azam-led Pakistan wonwith Md Rizwan (71), Md Nawaz's 20-ball 42 and late hits from Khusdil Shah-Asif Ali taking the Men in Greenpast the finish line.
After the high-voltage encounter, Kohli addressed the post-match presser and made a big revelation. When asked to comment on how he dealt with all the talks regarding his form, Kohli stated that he doesn't give a lot of prominence to advice he gets on television and revealed that only MS Dhoni -- among the ex-cricketers -- texted him post his Test captaincy resignation. He meant that such gestures mean a lot more to him than receiving suggestionsin front of the whole world.
Ahead of India's Asia Cup Super Four clash versus Sri Lanka, Kohli took to his Instagram handle to probably explain his comments and took a cue from an inspirational quote. He shared a text stating, "Notice the people who are happy for your happiness, and sad for your sadness. They're the ones who deserve special places in your heart.' Kohli shared the same and wrote 'Word.'
At the presser, Kohli had said, "Let me tell you one thing: when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person, with whom I had played previously; that was MS Dhoni. Many people have my number. On TV, people give lots of suggestions, people have a lot to say. But none of the people who had my number sent me a message."
"That respect [with Dhoni], that connection you have with someone, when it is genuine, it shows like this, because there is no insecurity with either of us. Neither does he [Dhoni] need anything from me, nor do I need anything from him. Neither of us suffers from insecurity. I can only say: if I want to say something to someone, I reach out to that person individually if I want to help. I mean, if you give the suggestions in front of the world, it has no value for me. If it is for my improvement, you can talk with me one-on-one, (tell me) that I genuinely want you to do well," the 33-year-old added.
Some former cricketers have already reacted to Kohli's recent comments. Former opener Sunil Gavaskar told India Today, "I don't know what the dressing room inside situation was with all these other players, I think, ideally, if he has named one person who got in touch, maybe the other people who didn't get in touch should have also been named. Then that would have been a little bit fair to everyone concerned rather than thinking everybody else didn't get in touch with him."
Kohli-starrer India are currently involved in a must-win clash versus Sri Lanka in the Super Four round of the Asia Cup 2022 edition, being held in the UAE.