'What message did he want?' - Sunil Gavaskar responds to Virat Kohli's 'no one messaged me after I left Test captaincy' remark

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has given his opinion to Virat Kohli's recent revelation about not getting much support after he left Test captaincy earlier this year. He had stated that only MS Dhoni, among the other former players with whom he played with, got in touch with him during the toughest phase of his career.

Gavaskar felt that not much could be said about Kohli's statement as he hasn't named any players who didn't contact him. He also went on to add that he is not aware of the atmosphere inside the dressing room and hence, it would be apt to not assume anything in this case.

"I don't know what the dressing room inside-situation was with all these other players. Ideally, if he has named one person who got in touch, then maybe the other persons who didn't get in touch should have also been named. That would have been a little bit fair to everybody concerned, rather than thinking that everybody else didn't get in touch with him," Gavaskar said while speaking to India Today.

Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that when one leaves the captaincy, the player gets to focus on their game. He also didn't forget to recall his own playing days stating that his teammates hugged him the night he announced his decision to step down from the helm in 1985.

"What message did he want?" he questioned. "Encouragement? But then he is done with captaincy, so why would he need encouragement? That chapter (captaincy) is already closed. Now you are playing only as a cricketer. So focus on that role because when you are the captain, you think about and worry about your mates. Once captaincy is over, it's time to focus on your own game.

"Now I left captaincy in 1985 after (B&H) World Championship of Cricket. That night we celebrated, hugged each other but beyond that what else do you expect?" the former India opener further added.

What did Virat Kohli say?

Virat Kohli, in an emotional press conference after the match against Pakistan, had recalled one of the toughest phases of his career. He also took a dig at the critics (former cricketers) who just gave him advice on the television instead of speaking to him personally.

"I can say one thing that when I announced my resignation from Test captaincy, I got message from only one person with whom I player earlier, that is MS Dhoni. Many people have my number...many people give suggestions on TV...but the people who had my number, nobody messaged. The respect, the connection that you have with somebody, when that is genuine, it shows this way," Kohli had said.