Virat Kohli confirms availability for ODI series: The former Indian white-ball captain will be available for the whole of South Africa tour.
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India Test captain Virat Kohli is confident of the team giving its “best” during the upcoming tour of South Africa. Kohli, who will be traveling on his third Test tour of South Africa, will be eyeing a “final frontier” in the form of winning a Test series there. Readers must note that India are yet to register their maiden Test series victory in South Africa.
“We will do our best to win in South Africa. [In 2018] South Africa was the start for us to start believing in that we can win overseas followed by Australia [twice] and England. We are well placed and experienced to go and win a series in South Africa,” Kohli told the reporters in a virtual press conference in Mumbai before leaving for South Africa.
Virat Kohli confirms availability for ODI series in South Africa
Eventually addressing the elephant in the room, Kohli confirmed his participation for a three-match ODI series in South Africa. Readers must note that India are scheduled to play three Tests and three ODIs according to their revised schedule.
In the build-up to this press conference, speculations were rife that Kohli has decided to give the ODI series a miss due to personal reasons. However, another source had confirmed to the media that Kohli didn’t ask the BCCI for any such break.
The absence of official statements further ignited the presence of a rift between Kohli and India’s new white-ball captain Rohit Sharma as the latter isn’t available for the Test series in South Africa. What a lot of fans didn’t take into contention is that Sharma’s availability for the Test series is due to a hamstring injury.
Virat Kohli says he’s available for the SA ODIs
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) December 15, 2021
“I was and I am available for selection all this time. You should not be asking me this question, honestly. This question should be asked to people who are writing about these things and their sources, because as far as I’m concerned, I was always available. I have not had any communication with the BCCI saying I want to rest.
“All these people who are writing these things and their sources, to me they’re absolutely not credible. As I said, I am available for selection for the ODIs in South Africa and I’m always keen to play,” Kohli added.
