Indian batter Virat Kohli is set to play the second One Day International (ODI) against England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, as confirmed by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Saturday. Kotak also played down concerns regarding captain Rohit Sharma’s lean patch with the bat.Kohli sat out of the first ODI due to a sore right knee and India clinched a rather comfortable victory to get a 1-0 advantage in the three-match series.Also Read: Shreyas Iyer and his fight for relevance highlight Team India’s short-sighted selection missteps
“Virat Kohli is fit to play. He has come for practice and is good to go,” Kotak said during the pre-match media interaction.Kotak revealed that he was unaware who will replace Kohli in the playing XI. India’s chase of 249 in the first ODI got off to an indifferent start with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma falling early, as the team got reduced to 19/2.Shreyas Iyer snapped the momentum with an impressive 59-run knock off 36 deliveries to keep India in the chase. He said after the match that the Mumbai batter’s inclusion in the playing XI was a late decision following Kohli’s injury. With Kohli back in the contention now, it remains to be seen whose place he comes in for in the team.On team selection, Kotak admitted he had no say in the matter.”That’s something for the head coach and captain to decide. Yes, the left-right combination is an important factor, but that’s not a question for me to answer,” he said.First Published: Feb 9, 2025 10:18 AM IST
