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Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa grabbed everyone's attention with his interview, where he revealed some unheard details about star batter Virat Kohli. In a recent interaction with the Lallantop, the 2007 T20 World Cup winner had accused Kohli for mistreating the legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh during the fag-end of his career and not giving him a proper farewell. He event went to claim that because of Kohli, former batter Ambati Rayudu was snubbed from India's 2019 ODI World Cup squad.
As his remarks divided the internet and fetched a lot of negative reactions from the fan, Uthappa has now issued a clarification. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Uthappa stated that his words were taken in a wrong way and he is allowed to have his own opinion.
"A lot is being said, a lot is being misconstrued. Calm down. I'm a human being; I'm allowed to have my opinion, much like any of you. I have been listening and receiving a lot of hate over the last few days. I've been through these experiences before, but I'm someone who likes to have conversations," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel
Uthappa went on to praise Kohli and even called him"one of the greatest" white-ball players.
"I was speaking to a style of leadership rather than a person or a human being. I have always spoken highly about Virat as a player. I think he's one of the greatest ODI batters in the world and I think I've said that on record if I if I can remember correctly that I think he's one of the greatest white-ball players to have ever played the game. And I even as as early as two weeks ago, I've said that Virat is going to score runs by the buckets," Uthappa said.
"When people asked Virat if he should retire, he did not score runs in the last five years in Test cricket; he's averaging 30. I've said, he's got a good three years left in him, if not more. If he's got the hunger, he should continue to play because he's a legend of the game. He deserves to play. I love Virat the player. I've appreciated Virat the human being because I think he's a very evolved human being because I've known him from a very young age and with a very different perspective. And I think he's a very, very evolved human being. But I can I have my opinion about his style of leadership," he added.
About his comments on Kohli's equation with Yuvraj, Uthappa clarified that the legendary all-rounder deserved a proper farewell match.
"When I spoke about Yuvraj Singh, I wasn't talking about his comeback. I was talking about a legend like him getting a send-off that he deserved to get, and I believe that someone like them deserved to have the kind of send-off that Rohit or Virat deserves, irrespective of what kind of form they're in or what they're not in, right?" said Uthappa.
"We have to celebrate our stars guys who will succeed within our culture, to be able to celebrate them, to be able to give them the view that they deserve and irrespective and I still believe irrespective of what kind of form Rohit is in, and I still believe he deserves to have the send-off, irrespective of what kind of form Virat is in. I believe he deserves it, he is one of the greatest player to play the game. Similarly, I feel Yuvraj deserved to have a send-off, which he didn't get, you know, and at that point, Virat could have afforded it, is what I felt as a leader, and that is my opinion. That is all there is to it," he added.