Virat Kohli's nasty feud with India teammate comes to light

Virat Kohli has been called out over a reported feud with a star teammate as the India captain faces mounting pressure after a second loss at the Twenty20 World Cup.

India is on the brink of an unthinkable early exit in the T20 tournament after New Zealand inflicted a chastening eight-wicket defeat on the cricket powerhouse.

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As well as their struggles out in the middle, India appear to have a storm brewing within their squad, with former England player Nick Compton highlighting Kohli's strained relationship with Ravichandran Ashwin.

The veteran off-spinner is the most experienced and successful bowler in India's squad but he's so far played no part in the World Cup.

Ashwin was also surprisingly left out of all four Tests in the series against England, played earlier in the year.

The spinner, who has 413 Test wickets, 150 ODI, and 52 T20 international scalps to his name, has been sidelined since India's World Test Championship final loss to New Zealand in June.

Ashwin reportedly complained to India's cricket board, the BCCI, that Kohli had made him feel uncomfortable after the defeat and claims the skipper reprimanded him for not showing enough intent in the match.

It's understood Kohli's announcement that he was relinquishing captaincy in the shorter formats of the game after the World Cup, came after pressure from the BCCI.

Compton - who played 16 Tests for England between 2012 and 2016 - said he thinks the feud is proving detrimental to India's side and questioned why Ashwin was constantly being overlooked for India selection.

"I just don't understand how Kohli's prickly relationship with Ashwin is allowed to keep him out of India teams," Compton posted on Twitter.

"Do you think captains should be allowed such autonomy?"

Kohli is under pressure on a number of fronts, with the skipper also slammed for failing to front the media after India's big loss to New Zealand.

India Trent Boult took three wickets and player of the match Ish Sodhi two as the Black Caps restricted the 2007 champions to just 7-110 during the opening innings of the Super 12s match in Dubai.

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Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 26 gave India faint hope of keeping their last-four aspirations in their own hands but New Zealand made light work of the modest total, wrapping up victory with 33 balls to spare.

Daryl Mitchell fell one run short of a half-century for the Kiwis, while captain Kane Williamson posted 33 not out, including the winning run.

Fans took aim at Kohl for skipping the traditional post-match press conference after the humbling defeat, instead sending bowler Jasprit Bumrah to face the media.

While Kohli skipped the post-match press conference, he did tell a reporter on the ground afterwards that his side needed to get back to what they do well.

“There’s only one way to play in T20 cricket, you have to be optimistic, you have to be positive, take calculated risks and that’s what this format’s about,” Kohli said.

“Just because you’re the Indian cricket team and there’s expectations doesn’t mean you start playing the format differently.

"I think we have to disconnect from that a little bit and back ourselves out there and take pride in performing for the team. As long as individuals are looking to do that, I think we’ll be fine.

“There’s a lot of cricket to play in this tournament and something we must all look forward to and certainly the team must look forward to and go out there with a positive mind.”

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