‘You give them bamboo now, but…’: Pietersen asks critics to put some respect on Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's names
Pietersen said that after the kind of joy Kohli and Rohit brought to fans' lifes, they should be celebrated at the current stage of their careers.
Kevin Pietersen has asked the critics to show some respect towards Team India batting stalwarts - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, as they have been criticised for the past couple of months. The batting maestros endured a tough red-ball season where they failed to make much impact with the bat in the New Zealand Tests and Border-Gavakaskar Trophy in Australia. The talks about their retirement also started brewing, but the duo hasn't announced such a decision and will be seen back in action in the three-match ODI series against England, followed by the ICC Champions Trophy.
Pietersen called the criticism and retirement talk unfair and said that the two players who had such illustrious careers deserve more respect.
"(It’s) unfair. How can you tell somebody who's scored as many runs as these guys, they must retire? Yes, it's a discussion and it's a topic I get it, I understand it, but they deserve more respect than that," said Pietersen, as quoted by PTI.
The former England skipper asserted that he also faced the same challenge during his career and said one Australia tour doesn't make two modern-day greats, not bad cricketers.
"Having had exactly the same challenges in my career, it happens. Rohit and Virat are not robots. They don't walk out there and get a hundred every time they bat. Maybe they had one bad Australian tour. Does that make them bad people? No. Does it make them bad cricketers? Absolutely not," he said.
Once the backbone of India's batting lineup, Kohli endured a tough series in Australia, managing just 190 runs at an average of less than 24. Rohit also failed to make any impact and had to sit out from the final Test to help the team field more in-form batters.
‘Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma should be celebrated’
Pietersen wants cricket lovers to understand that stars are human, too.
"You guys need to understand, these guys are human beings. You give them bamboo now, but at the end of their careers, you look back and how did they make you feel when they played? They made people feel happy. It's not all about statistics. It's not all about winning and not about losing, and you finish your career like I did, people talk to me about how I made them feel when I played," he added.
He further said that after the kind of joy Kohli and Rohit brought to fans' lifes in the past decade, they should be celebrated at the current stage of their careers.
"A Virat makes people feel amazing. Rohit makes people feel amazing, so they should be celebrated, they get to 36, 37 or 38. I always feel those kinds of players should be celebrated," said Pietersen.
Recommended Topics 
