Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar on Tuesday criticised Ajinkya Rahane "the batsman" after his twin failure in India's 227-run defeat to England in the opening Test here. But captain Virat Kohli stood firmly by his deputy, telling the curious scribes, "If you are trying to dig something out, you are not going to get it..."

In recent years, Manjrekar has been vocal about his criticism of Indian players on social media. "My issue with Rahane the captain is Rahane the batsman. After that 100 in Melbourne his scores are - 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1 & 0. After a 100, class players carry their form & carry the burden of players out of form," Manjrekar, a former India player, tweeted.