Dravid confident Kohli over hotel video episode and ‘absolutely perfect’ for Bangladesh

India head coach Rahul Dravid said Virat Kohli had dealt well with an invasion of his privacy at a Perth hotel and the batter was in good spirits ahead of their T20 World Cup clash with Bangladesh on Wednesday.

India’s star batter was furious after footage from inside his hotel room in Perth was posted online this week.

The former India skipper said in an Instagram post that he found the video “appalling” and felt “very paranoid” about his privacy.

Dravid, India’s coach, said the incident was “disappointing”, but that it had been dealt with, and is sure there will be no lasting effects for Kohli.

“It’s not very comfortable for anyone, let alone Virat,” Dravid said.

“It is disappointing. We have flagged it with the relevant authorities. They’ve taken action.

“Hopefully incidences like this will not happen in the future. Hopefully people are a lot more careful because it’s the one place where you feel you are away from people’s prying eyes, and without the media glare on you and without the photographs that all of these players have to deal with.

“It’s the one place where you hope to feel secure and safe. That’s taken away, it’s not really a nice feeling.

“But I think he’s dealt with it really well. He’s fine. He’s here at training. He’s absolutely perfect.”

Dravid also backed KL Rahul to come good. The opener has made three single figure scores in the competition so far, but he retains the support of his coach, as well as captain Rohit Sharma.

“Rest assured, I think both in words and in action, over the last year he knows he has our support,” Dravid said.

“There’s been a lot of clarity about what our side is going to be, what our squad is going to be coming into this tournament, and we haven’t wavered from that for a very long time.

“In word and in action, I think with all of our players, that’s the great thing about Rohit, that he’s really shown them that confidence and that belief.”

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, talked down his side’s chances against India, saying, “We know it very well that if we win against India, it will be called an upset”.

But Dravid warned against over-confidence. “We respect them a lot,” Dravid said.

“I think they’re a very good team. I think this format and this World Cup has really shown us that honestly you can’t take any team lightly.”

South Africa beat India by 5 wickets

David Miller, right, and Wayne Parnell of South Africa celebrate after beating India in the T20 World Cup Group 2 match at Perth Stadium on October 30, 2022. AP

Updated: November 02, 2022, 6:54 AM