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Tag: Virat Kohli’s

  • Lot to talk about selection, they’ve given a few headaches

    Australia head coach Justin Langer admitted they have a few selection headaches ahead of the three-match ODI series against India starting on November 27 at Sydney.

    Steve Smith has returned to the ODI squad after he missed Australia’s last assignment against World champions England due to a concussion. Langer confirmed that Smith will straightaway find a place in the XI in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh in the first ODI against Virat Kohli’s men at SCG on Friday.

    We’ll probably lean that way (picking Smith for Marsh) but we did learn and we’ve talked about in our foundation for one-day cricket going forward, we really like that extra bowling option,” Langer said as quoted by Cricket.com.au.

    The former Australia opener, however, added that they would like to have that extra cushion of a bowler which they had in the presence of Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, which gives them some selection headaches.“In England, we had Mitch Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell able to get us at least 10 overs. So we like that combination, the extra allrounder. Obviously Steve will come straight back in.“He’s bowled the last two Shield games for Western Australia. I’ve said publicly if we’re going to pick Cameron Green he has to be bowling in one-day cricket specifically, not so much in T20 cricket or Test cricket because we go for a different set-up in those two forms of the game.

  • Justin Langer full of ‘respect’ for Virat Kohli’s decision to take paternity leave

    Of course it will have an impact,” Australia coach Justin Langer said when asked about Virat Kohli returning home after the first Test in Australia later this year for the birth of his first child. Using an Aussie Rules Football parallel, Langer likened Kohli’s absence to “taking Dustin Martin out of Richmond”, but stressed that even without their captain, India “are a very, very good team” and “we have to be on our toes all summer”.

    “Are we happy he is not playing? It’s like taking (AFL star) Dustin Martin out of Richmond,” Langer said with a laugh at a press interaction earlier today. “Of course it will have an impact, but we also know that India beat us last time (in 2018-19). They are a very, very good team. We cannot get complacent for a second with or without Virat.

    “So we are going to have to be on our toes all summer, and we’re looking forward to that.”

    Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their first child around the turn of the year, and Kohli has asked for – and been granted – paternity leave. The tour will start with three ODIs, followed by three T20Is, with the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy played at the end. In a media statement earlier this week, the BCCI confirmed Kohli’s return after the first Test, which will be India’s first day-night Test overseas, but did not specify whether Kohli would rejoin the Indian Test squad at a later stage, though any return would have to negotiate strict quarantine protocols, adding to the time that he would not be available.

    As far as Langer was concerned, though, taking time off for “one of the great things you will ever do” was worth the sacrifice on Kohli’s part.

  • Cricket Fans Can’t Wait to See Virat Kohli’s Team Donning Rumoured Retro Kit During Australia Tour

    IPL 2020 is done and dusted. The Indian Team has now embarked on nearly two-month-long Australia tour from Dubai in specially designed PPE kits on Wednesday night. The squad led by Virat Kohli is all set to play 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs, and 4 Tests.

    The three ODIs will be played on November 27, 29, and December 2 at Sydney Cricket Ground and at the Manuka Oval in Canberra respectively. The first T20I will also be played in Canberra on December 4 and the rest two on December 6 and 8 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The first Test set to be played under lights from December 17 to 21 at the Adelaide Oval

    However, there’s a rumour floating about on social media that the Indian squad will be donning the retro jersey. According to a report in Outlook, Team India is reportedly set to sport a new jersey for the limited-overs games.

    As the news caught air, cricket fans on Twitter went on a nostalgia drive.