“Ho sakta hai ki IPL ki liye bhi na khele” – Sunil Gavaskar reacts to Virat Kohli’s absence from international cricket
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has reacted cheekily to Virat Kohli’s absence from international cricket. That came as the star batter skipped the ongoing five-match home Test series against England. The 74-year-old reacted sarcastically that Kohli might not even play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
For the unversed, Kohli is spending quality time with his family in London, UK. The 35-year-old cricketer and his wife Anushka Sharma, who tied the knot in December 2017, recently welcomed a baby boy named Akaay, their second child.
During a Star Sports event while interacting with students of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ranchi, Sunil Gavaskar was quoted by the Times of India:
"Kya woh khelenge? kuch reason ke liye khel nahin rahe hain, shaayad ho sakta hai ki IPL ki liye bhi na khele (Will he play? He is not playing due to some reasons, maybe he might not play in IPL as well.)"
Kohli will next be in action for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2024. The Bengaluru-based franchise will play the opening game against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk Stadium on March 22.
“Jurel could be the superstar after this performance” – Sunil Gavaskar lauds Dhruv Jurel
Sunil Gavaskar also lauded Dhruv Jurel, who grabbed the opportunity with both hands after replacing KS Bharat in the playing XI for the third and fourth Test in Rajkot and Ranchi, respectively. The wicketkeeper-batter returned with scores of 46, 90, and 39* in his first three innings.
Gavaskar believes that Jurel can be promoted by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the batting order and could turn out to be the superstar for his IPL franchise this season. He said:
"He could be promoted up the order. Jurel could be the superstar after this performance in the Test matches.
The cricketer-turned-commentator was further impressed with Akash Deep, who bagged three wickets against England in just one session on his Test debut in Ranchi. Gavaskar believes that the speedster can solve death over woes for RCB:
“Even Akash Deep could get more exposure in RCB and play the role of the death over specialist which they were missing last season."
The fifth and final Test between India and England will be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala from March 7.