Former cricketer Yograj Singh blamed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s poor shows in Australia on arrogance, saying they thought they were bigger than the game. With both now nearing the twilight of their international careers, he believes they could still prolong their stay if they train under someone like ex-KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit.
Speaking to InsideSport in an exclusive interview, Yograj said that while Kohli and Rohit remain India’s greatest talents, their poor show in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series last season showed that arrogance had crept in, insisting they needed discipline, humility, and relentless training like Sachin Tendulkar showed by staying grounded and playing till 43.
He said: “I believe Rohit and Virat are the greatest talents. I would say, ‘Guys, get up at 5 AM, let us train. ’ No one is greater than the game. Kohli was getting out in Australia, where the bat was going out of his reach. Why did no one go and talk to Virat, saying that he was playing wrong? Who will tell Rohit that at 5 AM ‘Come on, boy, it’s time for a 10km run’. I would say that. I would say that no one is greater than the game and that you have to perform all the time. I want to ask everyone, ‘Why are they averaging 50, when Don Bradman averaged 99?’ It means they are failing more often, and it is happening because they are thinking, ‘I’m the greatest.’ Why did Sachin play till the age of 43? Because he was always grounded. He used to even play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.”
Yograj added that, much like Pandit, he too values only performance, warning Kohli and Rohit that even as senior players they must lead from the front or risk being told to step aside.
“I think the problem is, if you are not performing, you are bound to see people saying back off. I’ve seen Chandrakant Pandit telling Kaif, ‘You back off if you can’t perform. ‘ That is why he was not called. Pandit, at this moment, is exactly Yograj’s life; he wants performances. As the two top players, you have to lead from the front. Everybody can go through a bad patch. But somebody is asking them a simple question: ‘I want performance, and if you can’t, thank you very much, you can go, ‘” he said.
Kohli and Rohit stepped aside from T20I cricket last year after India won the T20 World Cup in Barbados. Earlier in May this year, both announced their shock retirement from Test cricket in a space of just five days. While both were thereafter speculated to remain active in ODI cricket until the World Cup in 2027, a media report indicated that their international career might end on the tour of Australia later in October this year. Both have yet to address the rumours, but are all but certain to make an appearance on the tour of the three-match series.
