Kohli plays down rift talk

2017 Champions Trophy

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has denied there has been any sort of rift between himself and coach Anil Kumble.

At his pre-match press conference Kohli declared that his team are focused and ready for the challenge of playing Pakistan.

When asked about the rumours of a rift Kohli retorted: “See, there has been a lot of speculation, and a lot of things being written by people without actually being a part of the changing room, which is very strange.

“There are no problems whatsoever. The team is totally focused on the Champions Trophy.

“In any walk of life there are agreements and disagreements always. If you don’t have knowledge of something, unless I am there myself in a particular situation and I am aware of what is happening, I will not pass any comment. I will not pass any judgment.

“I think in India there is a lack of patience. People speculate from a distance. They apply their own idea. And when that thing does not happen nobody admits his mistake. That is why I do not focus on these issues. If you write something you should take the ownership that I was wrong.

“These are normal things. Even at home you do not agree on everything with your family. The people who speculate should also think do you agree on everything in every situation. It is not possible. All I can say is if you do not have the knowledge about something do not spread rumours, do not speculate and focus on the cricket.”

WATCH: Virat Kohli pre-match press conference

Kohli defended the BCCI’s decision to advertise the head coach job just a few days ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Kumble was given a one-year contract after his appointment last year and will need to reapply if he is to extend his tenure by another year.

The skipper said: “As I mentioned before, if something is put in place as a process, I mean, I don’t see why people are creating so many speculations about it.

“It has been followed last time as well, and I didn’t see any issues being created last time. So it is the same process. It is just happening after 12 months. People who even try to tell me about this, I don’t even want to know anything of this sort, because in a tournament that is in focus so much, and it’s such a big stage, a lot of people like to find a lot of rumours flying around, especially before the start of the tournament.”

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