Sports minister Anurag Thakur speaks up on rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, says THIS

Rohit Sharma will miss the upcoming Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury. Last week, Rohit was handed the reins of ODI and T20I formats.

Rohit Sharma (left) and Virat Kohli. (Source: Twitter)

A day after former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin had tweeted about the alleged rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said there is no player bigger than the game.

“Virat Kohli has informed that he`s not available for the ODI series and Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the upcoming test. There is no harm in taking a break but the timing has to be better. This just substantiates speculation about the rift. Neither will be giving up the other form of cricket,” Azharuddin had tweeted.

Virat Kohli has informed that he's not available for the ODI series & Rohit Sharma is unavailable fr d upcoming test. There is no harm in takin a break but d timing has to be better. This just substantiates speculation abt d rift. Neither wil be giving up d other form of cricket. — Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) December 14, 2021

“Sports is supreme and nobody is bigger than sport. I can`t you give information as to what`s going on between which players in what game. It`s the job of concerned federations/associations. It`ll be better if they give info,” said Anurag Thakur when asked about the alleged rift between Kohli and Sharma.

On Tuesday, former India cricketer Kirti Azad said that if Rohit and Kohli are not playing together, then the Men in Blue will suffer and cricket will take a hit. Rohit will miss the upcoming Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury. Last week, Rohit was handed the reins of ODI and T20I formats.

“If Rohit and Virat are not playing together then the team will suffer later they will suffer themselves first. One player will replace another. No one is indispensable. Many greats have come and gone Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly. So, they will suffer first if they do not play in each others’ captaincy,” Azad told ANI.

“Rohit being unwell and Kohli not available for the ODIs. Two of your best players are not available for either of your series is really serious for India. They have been the mainstay of your Indian batting and the board must find out where is the problem if at all there is any rather than its member tweeting that there might be a rift in the side. It is not good for the morals of the side and South Africa is a good team especially when you are playing on good hard tracks. It's altogether different from playing in any part of the world. The wickets are different,” he added.

(with ANI inputs)