Why Virat Kohli is not playing today: India have made four changes to their Playing XI for the first T20I in Tarouba.
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During the first T20I of India’s tour of West Indies 2022 in Tarouba, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has won the toss and chose to bowl.
“Going to bowl first. Maybe there’s something in the pitch. Nice to know what you’re chasing. Looking forward to this series. We enjoy the format. We like to entertain,” Pooran told ESPN Caribbean at the toss.
Playing a T20I after just over three weeks, West Indies have made four changes to their Playing XI from their last match against Bangladesh. Batter Shimron Hetmyer, all-rounder Jason Holder and fast bowlers Keemo Paul and Alzarri Joseph (debut) have come in for batter Brandon King, all-rounder Romario Shepherd, pacer Dominic Drakes and spinner Hayden Walsh.
Why Virat Kohli is not playing today vs West Indies?
Not asked about what he would’ve done upon winning the toss, India captain Rohit Sharma remained his usual unaffected self about being asked to bat first in the first-ever international match at the Brian Lara Stadium.
“Ready to go. Good to have some time off. Pretty excited to get back and get things underway. First international game being played here, good to see the fans coming in large numbers. Facility looks good. Will have to look at how the wicket plays,” Sharma told ESPN Caribbean at the toss.
Much like the hosts, India have also made four changes to their Playing XI from their last T20I against England earlier this month. Former captain Virat Kohli and fast bowlers Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Umran Malik have made way for vice-captain Hardik Pandya, spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
While Kohli has been rested for this tour, Malik isn’t part of an 18-member squad. Patel and Khan have been left out for Bishnoi and Arshdeep. Readers must note that India are playing this with an extra spinner in Ashwin.
Despite doing well in this format, batter Deepak Hooda hasn’t managed to find a spot in the XI as fellow batter Shreyas Iyer has retained his spot. Apart from Patel, Khan and Hooda, wicket-keeper batters Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson, all-rounder Axar Patel and spinner Kuldeep Yadav are warming the bench today.
