New Delhi, April 1: After Yuvraj Singh, now Indian cricket Team Director Ravi Shastri defended Virat Kohli who recently faced wrath of many for not performing well in ICC World Cup 2015.

The former cricketer also defended Kohli's girlfriend Anushka Sharma who too had faced criticism for her boyfriend's bad performance in the semi-final against Australia. [Shame: Indians abuse Anushka Sharma for Virat Kohli's bad performance, actress bullied on Twitter]

Shastri on Monday, March 30 said that the swashbuckling batsman's ordinary run in the World Cup had nothing to do with his actress-girlfriend Anushka Sharma's presence and to call it that is "utter nonsense".

Shastri said, "If it was so, Virat wouldn't have got 700 runs and smashed four centuries in Tests in Australia. His work ethics is as good as any I have seen. His heart beats for India."

"It's a pedigree you don't see often. And to tell you the truth, he isn't a finished article yet," told Shastri and also added, "(Kohli showed that) it's not the size of the dog in fight that matters. It's the fight in dog that counts."

Earlier Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh also defended the two Love Birds. Ganguly, one of the best Team India captains, had said, What wrong Anushka has done? She had only gone to see a cricket match like the families of other players. It is unfair to blame him for Kohli's performance. It is the immaturity of people (criticising Anushka)." [Unfair to blame Anushka Sharma for Virat Kohli's poor form: Sourav Ganguly]

Yuvraj too said, "To all our real Indian fans who support us in our wins and loses ! Let's respect @imVkohli and @AnushkaSharma personal life."
Earlier on March 26, Australia defeated Team India to reach final of ICC World Cup 2015. Virat, who against Pakistan hit a century, failed to secure a good score in the remaining tournament. [Tweet vs Tweet: Now, Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli find solace in Yuvraj Singh's message]

During the match against the host country, Virat got out to Mitchell Johnson of a short delivery and scored 1. His failure irked people who abused the cricketer and his girlfriend. [Ind vs Aus: This is what happened to Anushka Sharma before & after Virat Kohli's wicket (Pics)]

People on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites had blamed Anushka for Virat's poor performance. Many hurled sexist remark at the actress.

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