New Delhi: It’s only been three days since India succumbed to an 18-run defeat to bow out of the marquee event in the 2019 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup despite finishing at the top spot in the group stages, but reports of internal rift in Team India have already begun surfacing.

Reports suggest that a few in the Kohli-led Men in Blue are miffed with the Skipper and coach Ravi Shastri’s “unilateral decisions” and partisanship, Hindi Daily Dainik Jagran claims. Team India captain and ace batsman Virat Kohli and Head Coach Ravi Shastri apparently take unilateral decisions, without taking others into confidence, thus creating an atmosphere of discord, leaving the team divided.

The alleged preferential treatment has ripped the team apart, which now reportedly has two factions – one which sides with captain Virat Kohli while the other which supports Rohit Sharma.

The report states that there is a strong bias in the player selection for the Team India and the haphazard selection of Vijay Shankar over Ambati Rayudu as the designated No.4 in the World Cup squad stands testimony to that.

While hitman Rohit Sharma and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are indispensable, others’ fortunes dangle at the hands of favouritism. Those in the 'Virat Company' get preference in the team selection, over the other one loyal to Rohit, the report stated.

Further, quoting a member of the Indian team, the report mentioned that there is a strong bias towards KL Rahul, who is backed by the team management despite his inconsistent performance. Also, the player reportedly said that Yuzvendra Chahal, who is part of Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is preferred over Kuldeep Yadav, when the situation demands to drop either of the two wrist spinners.

However, the rift within the squad hasn't yet reached a point to trigger a major conflict, said the report.

The discontentment is such that coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun are no longer welcomed in the team.

Dainik Jagran quoted the player as saying, “Virat is performing great with the bat but when will this coach and bowling coach leave?”

According to the report, Shastri and Kohli enjoy the support of chief of Supreme Court-backed CoA Vinod Rai and thus the rather high-handed approach of Shastri and Kohli goes unopposed within the team management.