Is Virat Kohli injured: The Indian captain’s absence from the ground in the recently concluded fourth T20I worried his bountiful fans.
Advertisement
India captain Virat Kohli has labelled the fourth T20I against England as a “proper game”. The first high-scoring match of the five-match series resulted in an Indian victory as the hosts remain alive after winning their second match.
In what appears to have become a norm now, another rookie Indian player in Suryakumar Yadav took the onus upon himself to play a match-winning innings. In the second innings, the likes of Shardul Thakur, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Chahar picked wickets at crucial junctures to restrict England to 177/8 in 20 overs.
In addition to players’ performances, the match will also be infamously remembered for once again starting the conversation around “soft signal” and “conclusive evidence” as Yadav’s dismissal allured severe criticism for third umpire Virender Sharma.
Being asked about the same during the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli didn’t shy away from disagreeing with the rule which according to him lies in the “grey area”. Marking the whole incident as “not ideal”, Kohli hoped for the sport to be “simple and linear” in the future.
“There was an instance during the Test series when I was next to Jinks [Ajinkya Rahane] and he clearly caught the ball but he wasn’t sure so we went upstairs. If it is a half and half effort and the fielder is in doubt, there is no way the umpire from square leg can see it clearly. The soft signal becomes that important and it becomes tricky. I don’t know why there can’t be an ‘I don’t know’ call with the umpires as well.
“It is similar to umpire’s call as well. These are decisions that can change the course of the game, especially in these big games. We were on the receiving side today, and tomorrow it could be some other team. You want these ironed out and keep the game really simple and linear. It isn’t ideal in high pressure games and have a lot of clarity on the field,” Kohli told Star Sports during the presentation ceremony.
Is Virat Kohli injured?
Kohli, who batted at No. 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium tonight, was dismissed after an unusual mode of dismissal. After scoring 1 (5), 32-year old player was nowhere to be seen on the field in business end of the English innings as vice-captain Rohit Sharma was calling the shots.
Kohli, who was subsequently visible sitting in the dugout, was presumed to have suffered an injury. Having said that, Kohli made it public that him missing the last 4-5 overs was “nothing serious” and just a precautionary measure.
“I ran for a ball and threw it and I just aggravated my upper quad a little bit and I didn’t want to make it into a niggle or an injury. Nothing serious. I took the smart decision of going out. I should be fine for the game in a day and a half. Better than sprinting for five or six overs because we have an important game coming up,” Kohli said.
