IPL 2018 | Virat Kohli a doubt for crunch tie against DD after skipping practice session
Virat Kohli’s place in RCB's matchday squad is in doubt ahead of a must win encounter against struggling Delhi Daredevils after he missed yesterday’s practice session due to an illness. South African batsman AB de Villiers is likely to lead the side today if Kohli is unavailable.
National team skipper Virat Kohli has been a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore setup ever since the start of his career in the Indian Premier League. Kohli has been behind most of the runs scored by the team and has been influential in their good performance with the bat this time round as well. Kohli has scored 396 runs in this year’s edition of the tournament at a strike rate of 135.15.
The Bangalore-based franchise still has an outside chance of making it to the play-offs stage provided they pick up a win today against fellow strugglers, Delhi Daredevils. But Daniel Vettori’s team have been dealt a huge blow ahead of this crucial encounter as reports have emerged that Kohli missed yesterday’s practice session due to an unforeseen illness and might not be a part of the matchday squad for today’s game.
A report in Sportstar suggested that Kohli will most likely sit out the match against Shreyas Iyer and co if he failed to recover in time. South African talisman AB de Villiers is rumored to be the first choice stand-in skipper in Kohli's absence.
Youngster Sarfaraz Khan, one of the three players to be retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL auction, might get another chance today if Kohli misses this game. The 20-year-old batsman has just managed 11 runs from three innings so far and will look to seize the opportunity in today’s game if given a chance.
RCB are currently placed seventh in the overall rankings table with just three wins from 11 games. They desperately need a win in today’s game if they want to keep their hopes of making it to the play-off still alive.