Ind vs Eng: Virat Kohli is all-set to become a father for the second time as per his dear friend, AB de Villiers. And that could very well keep Kohli out of action at Rajkot.
Rajkot: After losing the first Test at Hyderabad, India found themselves in a spot of bother, but young Yashasvi Jaiswal calmed the dressing-room with a brilliant double century against England in the second game at Vizag. But now, problems have piled for the Indian Test squad for the remainder of the Test series as they are set to miss key players. Multiple reports suggest injuries are gong to keep Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami out of the remainder of the series. Jadeja and Shami’s absence is surely going to hurt India.
Meanwhile, former India captain Virat Kohli is all-set to become a father for the second time as per his dear friend, AB de Villiers. And, that could very well keep Kohli out of action at Rajkot. No confirmation has come in on that as yet.
Meanwhile, the good news is that – KL Rahul, who missed the Vizag Test, is likely to return to the side. Rahul’s entry would give solidity to the middle-order which seemed to be missing at Vizag. It would be interesting to see Sarfaraz gets to make his Test debut at Rajkot or not.
The squad for the Rajkot Test is likely to be announced after the Vizag Test which ended today with India winning it by 106 runs to level the series. There were reports that the squads would be announced ahead of the second Test, but we guess the delay has taken place due to Kohli’s availability.
India coach Rahul Dravid was asked about Ishan Kishan’s availability for the final three Tests. To that, Dravid said: “There is way back for anyone and everyone. I don’t want to go on labouring about the Ishan Kishan. Have tried to explain this as best as I can, the point was he had requested a break, we were happy to give him the break.”
India Squad For Rajkot Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Srikar Bharat (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Saurabh Kumar, KL Rahul
The Rajkot Test starts from February 15.
Day 3 Vizag, REPORT: What an absorbing day of Test cricket where both sides were tested at various times. With two days still to go in the Vizag epic, all three results are possible, with draw looking the distant third. England need 332 more to win, while the hosts need nine more wickets to level the series. All to play for on Day 4. Stay tuned to this space for all the latest.
NOTE: Shubman Gill did not take the field on Day 4 of the Vizag Test due to an injury in his index finger. We hope he is back for the third Test, but at the moment, there is no clarity on it.