Once known for their friendship Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are now facing an alleged rift in their bond. The rift between Kohli and Sharma is of bigger magnitude which Indian cricket hasn't seen for a long time. All efforts to sweep the differences under the carpet have failed, with a serious of factors that led to the differences between these two once best of friends surfacing at regular intervals.
The differences between Kohli and Sharma had been simmering for a long time, but it did not show up until the recent World Cup. It was in the wake of India’s exit in the semi-finals of the World Cup, discussions began on the need for split captaincy for the Indian team. Many suggested that Sharma, who has been the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), should be given the captaincy for the white ball cricket with Kohli leading the team only in Test matches. Kohli, who had plans to skip the West Indies tour, immediately cancelled his plans and made himself available for the entire tour - ensuring that he stayed the captain for all formats.
However, now Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai has rejected the matter as "stories created" by media. "These are all stories created by you guys," Rai said in response to queries on whether India's two top batsmen are indeed at loggerheads. Neither Kohli nor Rohit have so far commented on the reported rift for which no specific reason has yet come out.
Reports that the BCCI was contemplating split captaincy—Sharma for limited-overs and Kohli for Tests—had also further escalated the cold war speculations. However, the possibility has already been ruled out by the BCCI officials. While Sharma was the highest run-getter at the World Cup with his record-breaking five hundreds, Kohli also had a decent outing in England, scoring five half-centuries.
Well, this is not the first time rift between cricketers have come forth. Here are some of the instances of infighting between players playing for the same team:
Shane Warne-Steve Waugh
Former Australian spin legend Shane Warne, recalling old dressing room moments in his book, called former skipper Steve Waugh as ‘the most selfish player’. Warne in ‘No Spin’ termed Waugh a selfish player. In the book, Warne pointed out the 1999 West Indies tour after he was dropped due to lack of form. At the time, Warne was also the vice-captain of the team. Warne was also trying to get back to his best form after major shoulder injury.
Kapil Dev–Sunil Gavaskar
Fight or difference between Sunil Gavaskar and World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev is arguably the most remembered one. It all started when Dev was dropped for playing a bad shot during the 2nd Test against England. On the final day of the 2nd Test, initially the match was moving towards a draw. However, Dev played a loose shot resulting collapse of entire batting order.
Dev’s this action left then captain Sunil Gavaskar furious and he took the decision to drop him from the team. This led to accusations and counter-accusations between the two great players. Fans also mocked Gavaskar during the 3rd Test where they started chanting and showed posters which read, “No Kapil, No Test”.
Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis
In the initial days, they were good friends. However, during 1993 South Africa tour, Wasim Akram was made captain who then demanded players to spend more time during nets which many members didn’t like and to everyone’s surprise, it was Akram’s friend and then vice-captain Waqar was made leader against Akram. And in 1994, New Zealand and Bangladesh tour Akram was replaced by Saleem Malik.
By 2003 World Cup, Akram and Waqar stopped talking to each other even on field. The team members was divided with some supporting Akram and some Waqar. Wasim Akram in his post-retirement interview said, “We hated each other so much that we were not even on talking terms both on and off the field… Pakistan benefited from our rivalry… every time Waqar took wickets, I too would too get charged up to do the same”.
Ravi Shastri–Sourav Ganguly
This is another famous story of feud between two players. It all started during selection of team India’s head coach. Shastri accused Ganguly of not being ‘present’ during his interview via Skype. Then replying to Shastri, Ganguly said the now coach was ‘living in a fool’s world’ if he held him responsible for not getting the coveted India coach’s job. During the selection, Ganguly and the rest of CAC members (Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman) supported Anil Kumble over Shastri. To turn the fight even more ugly, Shastri asked Ganguly to be ‘present’ while the interview is being conducted.
Virat Kohli–Gautam Gambhir
Playing Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir together was a treat. But these two players have had a history of on-field fights. The two didn’t share an outstanding relationship as the two are similar when it comes to their temperament. The two haven’t played together in the same team after 2014 but Gambhir would have wished that he had avoided those confrontations back in the day.
It all started during the IPL, but what added fuel to fire is Gambhir’s omission from national team for Test series against New Zealand. After a decent performance in Duleep Trophy, it was expected to include Gambhir in the side. However, according to reports, Kohli went on to pick Shikhar Dhawan, who was then under-performing in comparison to Gambhir.
Graeme Smith–Lance Klusener
Lance Klusener is considered to be one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. He hit out at former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith after he was dropped from the squad for England tour. He was replaced by Shaun Pollock after poor performance in the world cup. But reports claim that Lance was dropped because he was considered to be a disruptive influence.
Smith also made it clear from his side that he didn’t want Lance to be in his team after he was appointed captain. And till the end of his career, Lance believed that Smith felt his threat and hence, he got rid of him.
