'Not at all, never by us': Coach Rahul Dravid interrupts reporter to defend Virat Kohli

Indian cricket team head coach Rahul Dravid spoke to reporters on Monday, at the pre-match press conference ahead of the final ODI of India vs New Zealand three-match series. The Men In Blue head into the third ODI on the back of a 2-0 lead, eyeing a clean swipe on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dravid currently finds himself in the headlines for something he told the reporters on Monday.

During the press conference, head coach Rahul Dravid was asked about former captain Virat Kohli’s future in the shortest format of the game. “There was a question mark over Kohli's place in the T20I setup last year, today he was included in the ICC team but still he is not on the T20I side now,” the reporter said. On listening to the question, Dravid quickly intervened and left no stone unturned to defend the star cricketer. 

“Not by us. Not at all, never by us!," Dravid said, before the entire room burst with laughter. “We need to look at the priority this year, this year it's about Test & ODI,” he added. It is pertinent to mention that Kohli was recently included in the ICC T20I team of the year 2022, but remains to be absent from the T20I setup, following the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. 

Virat Kohli's form since his 71st international century

Kohli made a thumping return to form during the Asia Cup, where he was the second-highest run-scorer with 276 runs in five matches. In the same tournament, Kohli hit his maiden century and first international hundred in three years. He hit the hundred against Afghanistan and completed his 71st international century knock.

He then carried over his stellar form to the T20 World Cup in Australia. Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 runs off 53 balls against Pakistan in their opening match. This knock by Kohli can be considered one of his biggest T20I knocks of all time. He was the highest run-scorer in the marquee tournament with 296 runs.

Keeping the upcoming ODI World Cup in mind, Kohli, alongside senior players like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul continues to remain absent from the shortest format. However, Kohli hit his 72nd century in the 3rd ODI against Bangladesh last month, before hitting two more hundreds against Sri Lanka in the same format. He is now the second-highest international century-getter after Sachin Tendulkar,