According to RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar, the star batter Virat Kohli is currently suffering with a niggle in his knee. He further clarified that nothing is serious with the former Indian captain, who will now shift his focus to the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 against Australia, set to commence at The Oval in London on June 7.
On May 21, Virat Kohli was apparently hobbling and grimacing in pain after he had tumbled on his right knee while taking the catch of Vijay Shankar at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He was involved in the final league stage game of the IPL for his team Royal Challengers Bangalore, who lost out to Gujarat Titans by 6 wickets to bow out of the playoffs race in the tournament.
At the post-match presentation, Sanjay Bangar gave the Virat Kohli fitness update and said, “Yeah, he had a bit of a niggle in his knee. But I don’t think there is anything serious. Having scored two back-to-back hundreds within a gap of 4 days. He is somebody who not only wants to contribute with the bat but even when he is fielding. He did a lot of running around.”
“40 overs a couple of days ago and today, for 35 overs he was on the field. He was giving his best. So it is going to bother at some point but I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Bangar added.
Meanwhile, according to reports, Virat Kohli is scheduled to leave for England to play the WTC Final 2023 in the wee hours of May 23, along with Mohammed Siraj, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, and Shardul Thakur. Meanwhile, Jaydev Unadkat, who has been ruled out of the IPL 2023 due to a shoulder injury, will also travel with the group to complete his rehab and take part in the summit clash of the Test format.
They will be accompanied by the Team India coach Rahul Dravid and the entire support staff. Also, Cheteshwar Pujara is already in England, playing for Sussex in the County Championship Division Two.
The rest of the players in the 15-member squad, including the Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Shami, and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to fly out to England after finishing their IPL commitments.