Team India is gearing up for a solitary warm-up fixture against Bangladesh ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. This match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York offers the Men in Blue a prime opportunity to acclimatize to the conditions. However, there remains uncertainty regarding Virat Kohli’s participation in the contest.
Kohli traveled separately and joined the squad in the United States a little later than his teammates. He was spotted at the Mumbai airport alongside his wife, Anushka Sharma, and is believed to have checked into the team hotel on May 31.
The long travel and resulting jet lag have cast doubt on Kohli’s availability for the warm-up match. Although he was seen at the venue, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed that Kohli would not be participating in the warm-up contest. The rest of the squad, however, is available and ready to play.
“We will bat. Not for any particular reason, conditions here look a bit challenging. Virat has just arrived yesterday, he’s going to miss out, the rest are all available and we’ll see how to use them. We arrived quite early, so the body clock has adjusted, we just have to see how well we can adjust to these conditions,” Rohit Sharma said after opting to bat first.
Virat Kohli is coming off an excellent IPL campaign for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He won the Orange Cap by surpassing the 700-run mark, displaying a refreshing intent in the middle overs.
Kohli was also spotted chatting with head coach Rahul Dravid on the sidelines. With his kit in hand, he took a look at the venue and had a lengthy discussion with Dravid as the other players warmed up for the clash.
India’s Playing XI for the Warm-Up Match:
Batting 11, Fielding 11: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (w), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
The warm-up match serves as a critical preparatory step for India, and although Kohli’s absence might be felt, the team remains focused on fine-tuning their strategies and formulating their best combinations for the tournament ahead.
