Rohit Sharma puts media spin to Virat Kohli’s poor run

Virat Kohli. Pic/AP, PTI

Is short-of-runs Virat Kohli affected by all the noise made in the media about his poor form? Going by what his limited overs captain Rohit Sharma said on the eve of the first T20I, he could well be.

How else then does one explain this utterance from Rohit: "If you guys [media] can keep quiet for a while, I'm sure he will be fine." Kohli will walk out to bat today determined to shrug off a poor 26-run ODI series tally against the West Indies. "He knows how to handle pressure. He is in a great mental space from what I see," said Rohit.

Meanwhile, the captain will look to improve his T20I record at Eden Gardens. In three games here, he has scored only 72 runs. His last innings was a match-winning half century against New Zealand in November 2021.

As reported on Monday, the dew will be a big factor but Rohit stressed that it won't be used as an excuse in his camp.