Virat Kohli says he is 'very sad' and 'hurt' by comments after World Cup exit

Kolkata, April 10: India's ODI vice-captain Virat Kohli today said he was "very sad", "hurt" and "disappointed" at the way people reacted after his and team's failure in ICC World Cup 2015 last month.

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Speaking for the first time to the media on World Cup performances, Kohli said he had contributed to the team much more than any other player in the last five years but still questions were being asked about him.

Kohli, who is captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 8th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 8), on Friday (April 10), revealed how "hurt" he was to see the angry reactions of fans.

RCB will start their IPL 2015 campaign when they face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens tomorrow night (April 11).

"Personally, I was very disappointed. In last five years, the number of matches I've helped India win and the consistently I've played is more than anyone else in the team. I don't think there's anybody else in the team who has done better than me," Kohli told the media at a promotional event here.

Angry fans had targeted Kohli's girlfriend and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma for the batsman's failure in the World Cup semi-final against Australia in Sydney. Kohli said people who commented on his personal life should be "ashamed".

"At a human level, I would say I was hurt and the people who said those things and the way they said should be ashamed of themselves," he said.

"To see those reactions after just one match was very disappointing for me personally. It makes you lose faith in a lot of people. It's a good thing in a way. You get to know who's with you and who's not. It was not in my control. But the reactions were very disappointing," he added.

The right-hander also took a dig at the media. "It's funny that I never know when my rough patch comes but you make the judgement. In my case, if I don't do well in two games, it's dip in form but if some other player performs two games out of 10, they come back in form," Kohli said.

"So I don't get the balance and I really don't pay attention to it. It's about how you hit the ball on that particular day," he added.

In that last-four encounter on March 26, Kohli was dismissed for just 1 run off 13 balls. India lost the match by 95 runs. Anushka was at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to cheer Kohli and the Indian team.

OneIndia News/PTI