Fans slam Virat Kohli as report claims he gave fitness Test in London: 'Why do we even need him?'

As expected earlier, Virat Kohli did not miss the recent fitness tests ahead of India’s upcoming international season. Rather, he took the tests in London, a report claimed on Tuesday. Several Indian cricket stalwarts, including Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah, assembled over the weekend at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru to undergo fitness tests before international cricket kicks off again.

However, one familiar face was missing from the get-together as Kohli did not fly back to India to take the tests. Amid mystery over how Kohli plans to do his tests and prove fitness before the October ODI series in Australia, a report in Dainik Jagran has claimed that Kohli’s fitness test was conducted in England.

Did Kohli break protocol by giving fitness test in England?

It is well known that Kohli now resides in London along with his wife Anushka Sharma and kids, but one would have expected the former captain to be in Bengaluru for the fitness tests as part of the team. But he gave his tests in London, and the report has now been submitted to the BCCI.

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A BCCI official told Dainik Jagran that Kohli “would have definitely taken permission” to give his fitness test in London, but this special exception has all the potential to snowball into a major controversy. In any case, it raises questions over team protocol and uniformity in decision-making.

Fans question ‘special treatment’ for Kohli

The leaked report about Kohli taking his fitness test in London did not go down well with Indian cricket team fans, as a few questioned why the former India captain is being given ‘special’ treatment.

“Why do we even need him in Indian team when he is living in London? Let him play for England,” a fan wrote on X.

Another fan said: “Virat Kohli does fitness tests in London, spends off-seasons in London, lives more there than in India… at this point he looks more like an English cricketer with an Indian jersey.”

Not all fans were unhappy, though, as a few underlined Kohli’s influence on Indian cricket.

“In a rare move, BCCI conducted Virat Kohli’s fitness test in LONDON. Perhaps first-time in Indian Cricket History that a player got such luxurious treatment,” a fan wrote on X.