IND vs NED: No Virat Kohli as Team India landed in Thiruvananthapuram: Former Indian captain Virat Kohli was seen missing from the flight that flew the 14-member Indian squad along with support staff from Guwahati to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on Sunday. Virat Kohli has, reportedly, asked for special permission from the cricket board due to a personal emergency.
A BCCI source confirmed that Virat Kohli flew to Mumbai due to some personal reasons and will join the rest of the squad on Monday in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Virat went to Mumbai for personal reasons, and he will rejoin the team soon,” confirmed the source as reported by Cricbuzz. The spokesperson of the team also confirmed the same.
The senior batter is expected to join the team on Monday, October 2nd, and will be available for India’s second warm-up fixture in Thiruvananthapuram against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Team India’s first warm-up game against England was washed out due to torrential rain. The rain gods ensured that no ball was bowled during the fixture between India and England in Guwahati, a couple of days ago.
Now, as it appears, the dark clouds have followed the Indian team from the eastern part of the country to the southern region. The weather in Thiruvananthapuram is not promising as the forecast predicts heavy rain with humidity levels at 94 percent.
As informed by the spokesman of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma and his boys have a scheduled practice session on Monday at the St Xavier’s College Cricket Ground, which highly depends on the weather conditions.
“Team India will have an optional training session from 2 PM onwards at the KCA – St Xavier’s College Cricket Ground, Thiruvananthapuram, weather permitting,” said the team’s spokesman.
If India’s fixture against the Netherlands gets washed out too, then it would be a massive loss for the team. Out of two opportunities to test their plans and strategies for the ICC World Cup 2023, India will get none. It could lead to failure of plans in the important games.
Team India is set to begin their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign on October 8 against Australia in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. Meanwhile, the ICC World Cup 2023 will commence on October 5 with England locking horns against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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