 "Virat Kohli declared 'absolutely fine' by insider amid reports of scans in Australia")
Virat Kohli is “absolutely fine” a source has informed after it was reported that the star batter underwent scans on Thursday. Kohli also batted during India’s intra-squad match simulation on Friday (15 November) at Perth and scored 15 runs before edging a ball to the slip cordon . The news of Kohli suffering a mysterious ailment went viral after it was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald that he went for scans on 14 November but the publication did not elaborate on the nature of the issue.
‘Kohli is absolutely fine’: Source
On Friday, a source told the Times of India that Kohli is perfectly okay and took part in the match simulation without any discomfort before getting out against Mukesh Kumar. The source, however, did not deny the report of Kohli going for scans. “Virat Kohli is absolutely fine. He batted in the match simulation without any discomfort and also had a hit in the net after he got out. No concerns there,” the source told TOI.
The news of Kohli facing fitness issues has been doing the rounds ever since he landed in Australia as he missed the nets session on 12 November (Tuesday) and only started training on 13 November (Wednesday) .
Despite Kohli not being in top form, Team India will hope he recovers in time for the five-match Test series that begins on 22 November in Perth. Kohli has an envious record in Australia, having scored 1352 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 54.08 and with six hundreds.
The 36-year-old Kohli, however, has struggled for form in Test cricket for a while, averaging just 31.68 in his last 60 Test innings since the start of 2020. His form has gone from worse to bad in 2024, scoring just 250 runs in six Test at an average of 22.72. Since the start of 2020, Kohli has only scored two hundreds in Test cricket.
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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, however, is confident that Kohli will overcome the poor form in helpful Australian conditions.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Well, the king is back in his territory,” Shastri told the ICC Review show. “That’s all I will tell (the doubters). When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent’s) mind when you go out to bat.”
The Times of India report also added that there are no “major concerns” regarding KL Rahul who was hit by a Prasidh Krishna bouncer during the match simulation on Friday. Rahul is the favourite to replace Rohit Sharma as an opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal if the Indian captain misses the first Test .
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