Virat Kohli plays football during practice session ahead of 1st ODI vs West Indies
Senior Team India batter Virat Kohli has shared pictures of his practice session ahead of the ODI series against West Indies on his Instagram handle. In the images, an agile Kohli can be seen playing football apart from taking part in fielding and batting training.
The three-match India vs West Indies ODI series will begin with the first game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The matches will be played behind closed doors owing to the threat of COVID-19.
Taking to his Instagram account, Kohli shared glimpses from his training session along with a red heart and an hourglass emoji.
The 33-year-old has been in the limelight of late for a number of reasons. While he quit as T20I and Test captain, he was unceremoniously sacked as ODI skipper. Playing in his first one-day series as pure batter after many years, Kohli scored two fifties in three matches in South Africa. India, however, had a poor time as the KL Rahul-led outfit were blanked 0-3.
The former captain will now play under Rohit Sharma in the ODIs and T20Is against West Indies at home. He is searching for his first century in international cricket since November 2019.
Rohit Sharma keen to carry forward Virat Kohli ODI’s template
India’s new white-ball skipper Rohit is keen to carry forward the one-day template put in place by Kohli. According to Rohit, no massive changes are needed in the manner India play one-day cricket. However, he asserted that modifications will be made as and when the need arises.
Speaking at a virtual press conference ahead of the first ODI, Rohit said:
"There's not much we need to change. On certain occasions, there will be situations where we will need to change our game. Being open to doing different things at different times is a requirement and it is a talk we have had. It's not like I need to come in and change things drastically. I will be giving the players the clarity of what is expected out of them.”
Terming the series loss in South Africa a rarity, Rohit pointed out:
“This is the only series (South Africa) that we have lost in the last few years that we have played, and in New Zealand as well. But our ODI (win) percentage in the last 3-4 years has been 70-plus if I am not wrong. If there is a change that we need to make in terms of how we approach the game, we have to do it. It is as simple as that. We have spoken to individuals about it.”
NEWS - Ishan Kishan and Shahrukh Khan added to squad for 1st ODI.
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Rohit and Kohli are expected to do the bulk of the scoring in the first ODI. While Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer are in isolation, having tested positive for COVID-19, Rahul will be available for selection from the second match onwards.