Kohli was out of the first ODI due to a sore knee
After missing the first ODI against England in Nagpur due to a sore knee, star batter Virat Kohli has been cleared to play in the second ODI on Sunday in Cuttack.
“Kohli is fit. He is good to go. He is here and training with us,” Kotak said in the pre-match press conference.
Kohli was seen wearing a knee strap in the training session before the first ODI and failed to clear the fitness test. The team management roped in Shreyas Iyer into the playing XI as the Mumbai batter went on to score a match-winning 59 off 36 balls.
“I wasn’t supposed to play the first game. As we all know, Virat unfortunately got injured and then I got the opportunity. But I had kept myself prepared. I knew that, you know, at any point in time, I could get a chance to play. And the same thing happened to me last year during the Asia Cup. I got injured, and someone else came, and he scored a century,” Iyer said after the first game.
“It’s actually a funny story. I was watching the movie last night. I thought that I could extend my nighttime. Then I got a call from the skipper saying that I may play because Virat has got a swollen knee, and I hurried back to my room and went off to sleep straight,” he added.
According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, Kohli was training without a strap to his knee and did few short sprints before batting in the nets without any visible discomfort.
Kohli’s inclusion could see Iyer being dropped for the second match as India aims to seal the series. Shubman Gill batted at No.3 in the first match as Yashasvi Jaiswal made his ODI debut. Gill scored 87 off 96 balls to steer India to victory with useful partnerships with Iyer and Axar Patel (56). If India decide to continue with Jaiswal and Rohit as the opening pair, Gill is likely to continue at No. 3 followed by Kohli at No. 4.
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