IND vs AUS | Virat Kohli sits out pink-ball warm-up game versus Australia A
Kohli has decided to sit out the pink-ball warm-up game
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Days after hinting about potential fatigue, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has decided to give the pink-ball warm-up game at the SCG versus Australia A a miss, with Ajinkya Rahane continuing to skipper the side. Meanwhile, alongside Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara too has been rested by the management.
Indian and Australian fansā dreams of potentially seeing āKing Kohliā play an extra game in the whites has been shattered as the Indian skipper has decided to give the second warm-up game against Australia A, starting Friday, a miss. In the aftermath of the 3rd T20I versus Australia, the Indian skipper had said that he would āneed to wake up in the morning and seeā if heāll be fit and energetic enough to play in the warm-up game, but a week ahead of the Test series, the 32-year-old has decided to give himself an extended rest.
Kohli, however, is not the only big name missing the warm-up game for India as the management have also decided to rest their main man Cheteshwar Pujara. The Saurashtrian played the first warm-up game and scored a fifty in the first innings, but he has been replaced by Rishabh Pant, who missed the first outing due to a mild neck strain. Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw have retained their places in the side, more or less indicating that the management are not looking at KL Rahul as anything but an emergency standby should there be yet another calamitous injury.
Meanwhile, the pace department sees the return of the deadly duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami, while Navdeep Saini also gets a game. The encounter could very well be an audition for Saini, who, by the looks of it, is currently behind Umesh Yadav in the pecking order.Ā
India (Playing XI vs AUS A): Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(w), Wriddhiman Saha, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
