'The media must stop writing this rubbish'- Arun Dhumal quashes reports of revolt against Virat Kohli

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has dismissed reports of few senior cricketers in India revolting against skipper Virat Kohli. Certain reports emerged on Tuesday (28 September) that Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravichandran Ashwin had called BCCI chief secretary Jay Shah and protested against Kohli’s leadership during the World Test Championship Final (WTC) final against New Zealand.

India lost the match by eight wickets and Kohli vented out his frustration in the post-match conference. The 32-year-old said he wanted more intent from the batters. Dhumal, however, has quashed these allegations and termed them baseless. “The media must stop writing this rubbish. Let me say this on the record that no Indian cricketer has made any complaint to the BCCI – written or verbal. The BCCI can’t keep answering every false report that keeps appearing. The other day, we saw some reports saying there will be changes in India’s World Cup squad. Who said that?” Dhumal was quoted as saying in The Times of India.  

Another report stated that Ashwin was unhappy about Kohli’s aggressive leadership and his attitude in the dressing room. The speculations of  rift between Ashwin and Kohli are doing rounds for a while. Many believed that Ashwin not getting a game in England Tests was due to his differences with Virat Kohli. The report also mentioned the Indian skipper wanted Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20 World Cup squad instead of Ashwin. 

Earlier, Kohli had announced his decision to step down from the T20I captaincy after the conclusion of the showpiece event. Apart from Kohli, head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling and fielding coach Bharat Arun and R Sridhar respectively will vacate their positions.