Rohit is able captain, will have my 100 per cent support, Kohli says

“Tired” of quelling never-ending speculation about a rift with Rohit Sharma, India’s Test skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday described his white-ball successor as an “able and tactically sound” captain, who will have his complete backing as a senior player.

Kohli, who was removed by the BCCI from ODI captaincy, made it clear that he was never spoken to about being replaced till chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma intimated him 90 minutes before the scheduled team selection meeting for the South Africa tour.

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Asked how he sees his role under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, Kohli said: “My responsibility is obviously to push the team in the right direction, something that I’ve always looked to do even before I became captain, so that mindset has never changed and it will never change.

“But Rohit is a very able captain and tactically very sound. We’ve seen that in the games that he has captained for India and in the IPL as well. So is (Rahul) Dravid bhai, who’s a very, very balanced coach, great man manager.

“Both of them will have my absolute support and my contribution in whatever vision they set for the team and I will be there to support that 100 per cent and continue to be a guy who can push the team in the right direction going forward from here,” Kohli added in a press conference ahead of the team’s departure to South Africa.

When asked about the conjectures that all is not well between him and Rohit, the Test skipper said that he is tired of clarifying.

“The batting, when you know you’ve been doing well at the international level, you know how to perform. Those things won’t go away from you. It’s about understanding your roles.”