Virat Kohli was doubtful to play in the second ODI on Sunday, February 9, after missing the first ODI against England because of a knee injury. Sitanshu Kotak, the batting coach for India, however, affirmed that the great batsman is well and will participate in the second match. Even if the news is encouraging, the management is still considering the potential shift in the team’s composition.
Yashasvi Jaiswal made his debut and opened the innings, while Shubman Gill was dropped to number three, marking two significant changes to the team due to Virat’s absence. The addition of Shreyas to the playing XI was another change, as he produced a quick half-century during the crucial moment. One of Iyer or Jaiswal must be dropped if the former captain of India returns to the starting lineup. Concerned about the dilemma posed in the middle order, a former cricket player for India expressed his views.
While Kohli is in and Virat Kohli fits, who leaves? Since Shreyas Iyer wouldn’t have played if Kohli had been healthy for the previous game, that is the key question.
The left-right combo of Rohit (Sharma) and Yashasvi was the team’s strategy. Thus, where would (Shubman) Gill have performed, and what are they going to do about it? According to Chopra’s YouTube channel, “Virat Kohli never misses matches due to fitness, so it hurt you a little that he didn’t play in the last match.”
Rarely is he (Virat) unfit. He was unable to participate in the Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra in January due to a neck injury. Then he was preparing to play here when something happened to his knee. Later on, we found out who replaced him. We were all of the opinion that Yashasvi had been substituted and forced to open for one game. But, Shreyas Iyer disclosed that he was watching a movie when he received a call telling him to prepare since Virat Kohli would not be playing himself. He struck a lot and was prepared. He went on, “What will happen now?
India’s squad for the ODI series against England
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
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