It was a big surprise among the cricket fans on Thursday after Rohit Sharma announced at the toss, ahead of the 1st India vs England ODI, that Virat Kohli was not playing the match. Ahead of the Champions Trophy, Kohli’s absence from one of the three ODIs against England will actually hinder his preparation for the tournament. The first ODI against England in Nagpur on Thursday was marred by Kohli’s meticulous attention to a sore right knee; however, the extent of the problem could not be identified straight away.
“Something went wrong last night, “remarked former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta, commenting.
Ravi Shastri further commented, “I heard there was something about a swelling in his knee.”
As India is dealing with the latest preparations for the Champions Trophy, it is still plagued with the doubts surrounding pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s immediate fitness.
The Champions Trophy is set to kick off on February 19 in Pakistan with India playing all their games in Dubai starting February 20.
The management will be hoping that Kohli’s knee injury is not serious and that he is available for selection in the last two matches against England, the second of which will take place in Cuttack on February 9 and the third in Ahmedabad on February 12.
“Unfortunately, Kohli not playing, a right knee problem that happened last night,” mentioned captain Rohit Sharma at the toss, surprising everyone.
Almost all the press statements emitted by the BCCI contained only one sentence full of nothing new about the information that Rohit had already revealed.
“Virat Kohli was unavailable for selection for the first ODI due to a sore right knee, read the update from the BCCI.
Apparently, the discomfort Kohli showed in the Wednesday nets prolonged the length of time he did not bat. Hours before the match on Thursday, images captured him running shuttle sprints with the right knee heavily strapped.
The 36-year-old appeared to be uncomfortable, limping out with physio Kamlesh Jain following very closely.
Scans have yet to be conducted on the 36-year-old.
It will be interesting to see whether Kohli rushes to Bengaluru for a check-up at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) or chooses to travel with the team to Cuttack for their next engagement.
