India vs West Indies: Rohit Sharma backs Virat Kohli, lashes out at media over scrutiny

India vs West Indies: Speaking on the eve of the T20I series opener, captain Rohit Sharma brushed aside concerns over Virat Kohli's batting form, pointing fingers at the media for constant scrutiny.

India's limited-overs captain Rohit Sharma was in no mood to address questions on Virat Kohli's batting form, pointing fingers at the media for unnecessary scrutiny of the batting form of the former captain. On the eve of the T20I series against the West Indies, Rohit reiterated that the team management is not having any issues with Kohli.

Virat Kohli managed only 26 runs over 3 ODIs against the West Indies earlier this month, slipping to a new low as he registered less than 50 runs in a bilateral ODI series for the first time since 2015. However, he had begun the year well with two fifties in South Africa, albeit both of them coming in losing causes.

"I think it all starts with you guys (the media). He is in a great mental space from what I see. He knows how to handle pressure. If you guys can keep quiet for a while, I am sure he will be fine," Rohit said on Tuesday when asked how the captain and head coach Rahul Dravid are going to deal with Kohli's inconsistent form.

Rohit's sharp reaction comes only days after he stressed that there is nothing wrong with Virat Kohli's confidence even as he is not able to get the big scores as he was regularly a couple of seasons back.

"Does Virat Kohli need more confidence? (laughs)," Rohit told reporters after the end of the ODI series when he was asked if the team management is backing the former skipper.

"If Kohli is in need of confidence, then who in the team is confident? I know he has not scored a hundred for long but he is getting fifties. Even in South Africa, he hit 2 fifties in 3 matches."

It will be interesting to see how Virat Kohli approaches his T20I innings against the West Indies, considering he will play as a non-captain for the first time in the format in over 4 years.