Virat Kohli, India's Test captain, has said that he was "disappointed" and "hurt" by the extreme reactions from sections of the media which were critical of him after he failed in the World Cup semi-final against Australia. Not just limiting their criticism to his batting, some even questioned the presence of Kohli's girlfriend during the World Cup campaign, saying it might have had a negative effect on his game.

According to Kohli, who finished as the third best Indian batsman in terms of runs - aggregate of 305, including a century against Pakistan in the tournament opener - the critics had easily forgotten that he had been the best batsman for India in the last five years.

"Personally I was very disappointed. I don't think anyone has helped India win as many matches or performed as consistently as I have in the last five years," Kohli said in Kolkata, where Royal Challengers Bangalore open their IPL campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.

"After that, to see such reactions after just one poor innings, was very disappointing. What it does is it makes you lose faith in a lot of people. It's a good thing in a way - you get to know who's with you and who's not. It was indeed a very difficult, well, not difficult because it's not in my control. But the reactions were very disappointing."

Speaking on the issue for the first time in public, Kohli said the critics should be "ashamed" before going personal. "At a human level, I would say I was hurt. And the people that said things and the way they were said, they should be ashamed of themselves."

Kohli also couldn't grasp what the critics meant by being in form.

"I never know when my rough patch comes or when I am in form. It is for you all to decide - you make the judgements better than I do. It is funny because there are some standards a player sets for himself over a period of time and I like to perform consistently.

"So in my case if I don't do well in two games it is a dip in form whereas for some of the other players they perform two games out of ten they come back in form. I don't understand that and I don't really pay attention to it. It is how you hit the ball on that particular day. In my mind I am really more confident than I have been ever in my life."

(ESPN Cricinfo)