With the Cricket World Cup only four months away, India have decided to rest their world number one rated batsman Virat Kohli. He is currently with the Indian cricket squad in New Zealand but will be rested from the last two ODI games against the Black Caps.
He will also be left out of the team for the three matches due to be played in the Twenty20 series. Even so, many people are still betting on india to win the series.
Acknowledged as many in the cricket world as being the top batsman on the planet today, Kohli scored for him a modest 45 runs when India beat New Zealand by eight wickets in their second of five One Day Internationals. After the match, Kohli and teammate MS Dhoni were seen enjoying “post-match shenanigans” on the Segway in Napier.
Although Kohli’s future absence for the rest of the tour is good news for the Black Caps, it will deprive many NZ fans from seeing this batting phenomenon in the flesh
Both the Indian team management and the Senior Selection Committee are of a like mind given the enormous workload the cricketer has been exposed to in recent months. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has commented that it will give Kohli a much-needed respite before they entertain the Aussies on home soil in late February
The BCCI statement went on to say that Rohit Sharma will captain the Indian team for the next two One Day Internationals due to be played in Hamilton and Wellington respectively, as well as the three-game T20 series that begin in New Zealand on the 6th of February.
30-year-old Kohli, who plays his club cricket for Royal Challengers, Bangalore, in the Indian Premier League, where he has been captain since 2006, was last rested from the Indian national side prior to India’s tour of Australia which began in November last year.
Before that, he was also given time off from the game for the Asia Cup in September 2018 when Sharma also took over as captain and led the team to victory.
The good news for world cricket fans is that Kohli should be fighting fit for the upcoming World Cup. His prowess will be there to be enjoyed by many in what could well prove to be his last World Cup event.
