SA vs IND – Virat Kohli confirms his availability for Cape Town Test, Siraj ruled out
Virat Kohli (Photo by CHRISTIAAN KOTZE/AFP via Getty Images)
After missing out on the second of the three-match Test series in Johannesburg, Virat Kohli has confirmed that he has recovered and will play the third Test. Despite not being in the best of form with the bat, the visitors did miss his services in the second Test.
Post the first Test, where India won rather comfortably, the Asian side went on to lose the Johannesburg Test by seven wickets under the leadership of their stand-in captain KL Rahul. While addressing the media on the eve of the game, India’s regular Test captain confirmed his availability. Kohli also revealed that Mohammed Siraj isn’t fully fit and thus won’t be featuring in the series decider.
“I am absolutely fit but Siraj is not 100 percent fit and we don’t want to risk a fast bowler not being 100 percent fit so ya,” said Virat Kohli. He then spoke about his form as well.
“It’s not the first time. England 2014 is one of those phases. I don’t look at myself from the lense that the outside world looks at me as. Virat on his form: In sport sometimes things don’t go as you want but as a batsman, I have been involved in important partnerships when the team needs me. I am in a position where people will judge me but I don’t look at myself like that,” he said.
The batting maestro then spoke about the offie Ravichandran Ashwin. After mentioning the fact that Ravindra Jadeja isn’t available for this series due to an injury, he credited the Tamil Nadu player for stepping up and displaying a good performance.
“Unfortunately Jadeja is out because of injury but Ash has been playing the role of Jadeja beautifully,” he added. Last but not the least, the 33-year-old also spoke about Rahul’s captaincy. Kohli felt that he was “very balanced in his captaincy”. India takes on South Africa in the third Test which starts on 11 January. The series decider is all set to take place at Newlands, Cape Town.
