Virat Kohli hopes to recover from back strain for Trent Bridge Test

Kohli didn’t come out to the field on Day 4 of the second Test between India and England at Lord’s due to a stiff back that he suffered on Day 3 and Ajinkya Rahane stood as the stand-in skipper of the team. His absence raised concerns about the extent of the injury, but the way Kohli batted, it was evident he had troubles in making the movement of the body and it was believed that he would be out of India’s squad. 

However, Kohli hoped that medication and rehab would help him get over the strain ahead of the Trent Bridge Test that starts on Saturday. 

“Five days to go, should be okay. The lower back issue coming up again and again, purely because of the workload. Confident I'll be fine in five days time,” Kohli said in the post-match press conference.

It was the worst performance put forward by India in the last four years as Kohli, leading the side, suffered an innings loss for the first time in his career. As much as it was India’s inability to fight in the challenging conditions came to the fore, England were terrific in their approach as well. While admitting that it was a shambolic performance by Team India, he didn’t forget to praise the Joe Root-led team for their convincing show.

“Not very proud of the way we played, to be honest. First time in last five Test matches we've been outplayed. Credit to England. They were clinical. When a team plays like that they deserve to be on the winning side,” Kohli said. 

“Can't really think about those things (conditions not in favour). You have to counter the conditions as and when they come to you. Can't crib about these things. Sometimes the rub of the green will go your way too. Won't sit around and say that we didn't have the best of conditions. Their bowlers were relentless with the ball. Looking at things now, the weather was so unpredictable, I think we got the combination a bit off before the game. Chance to correct that next game.”