Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa, who has shared the dressing room with Virat Kohli, recently opened up about a strain in their relationship during a podcast.
Robn Uthappa revealed that his earlier comments on Kohli’s captaincy inadvertently caused tension between them.
Uthappa had previously questioned Kohli’s decision to exclude Ambati Rayudu from India’s 2019 World Cup squad, despite Rayudu being a strong contender for the number four spot.
‘Had no intention to target Virat Kohli personally’
Reflecting on his remarks, Uthappa admitted on a YouTube podcast that his intention was to share his perspective, not to target Kohli personally.
He acknowledged that he should have discussed his concerns directly with Kohli first and said the experience taught him a valuable lesson about communication and responsibility.
“In that whole conversation, the intent was not to speak about Virat. That interview was meant to be about me. I was asked a question which I spoke to. I didn’t take into consideration at that point the sentiments of Virat or the fact that even if this is what I believe, he should know what I believe and that gives me the right to voice that.
“My relationship with Virat was impacted by that. My learning from that was, when I spoke to him, that I should have spoken to him before,” Robin Uthappa said.
He also criticized how the management handled veterans like Yuvraj Singh, who later retired without a proper farewell. Under Kohli, India reached the semi-finals but lost to New Zealand.
“I didn’t speak about my experience with Virat. I spoke about what I saw one of my closest friends experience under his leadership. It wasn’t even his leadership, it was the style of leadership.
“Everyone is entitled to have their own style, and everyone is entitled to have their opinion on that style. That was my learning that I should have spoken about it to him and that sensitivity we must extend to cricketers or people in the same fraternity.”
