Ahead of their opening clash against South Africa, India skipper Virat Kohli gave the fans and his side a massive scare when he picked up an injury to his right thumb during a practice session. Kohli injured it while the training session was in progress on Saturday following which team physiotherapist Patrick Farhart was quick to take things under control.
The magic spray was applied to the finger following which it was strapped. It cannot be deciphered if the skipper hurt his thumb during fielding or batting practice, but if visuals are to be believed, the skipper was feeling a lot of pain.
Kohli walked away from the training session
Kohli walked off from the session with his thumb dipped in a glass full of ice and as of now, there has been no official statement in this regard made by the BCCI or the team management.
Indian players have been picking up injuries this World Cup as both Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav also had troubles. While Shankar took part in the practice game against Bangladesh, Kedar Jadhav is still being monitored.
The world no. 2 ranked ODI side India go into the World Cup as joint favourites along with hosts and no. 1 ranked England. They did not have an ideal beginning against New Zealand in their first warm-up match, but got their campaign back on track with a thumping win against Bangladesh.
"The biggest positive from today was the way KL [Rahul] batted at No. 4, everyone else knows their roles. It is important that he gets the runs and he is such a class player," Kohli said of KL Rahul who hit a 99-ball 108, and all but made sure, he walks out to bat at number 4 for India in the first match against South Africa.
Speaking about the bowlers, the skipper praised the efforts of Jasprit Bumrah and his wrist-spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
"We were challenged by their batsmen as well but we bowled well and our spinners got wickets too. [Jasprit] Bumrah got us the breakthrough and [Yuzvendra] Chahal and Kuldeep [Yadav] got us six wickets," Kohli further added.
While India were dominant in their display, the form of their openers remain a concern, but the captain is not losing his sleep over it as he believes, both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are quality players who will stand up and perform when the main tournament starts.
