World Cup: Virat Kohli-less Indian team reaches Trivandrum as ex-captain flies to Mumbai for personal reasons

Former India captain Virat Kohli was reportedly not on the Indian team’s flight that reached Thiruvananthapuram for the ICC World Cup warm-up game. The Indian Cricket team reached Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday for their second warm-up game against the Netherlands after the first fixture was washed out in Guwahati. The Men in Blue were set to lock horns with defending champions England in their opening practice match but rain played the spoilsport as the game got abandoned without a ball being bowled. 

Notably, as per a report in Cricbuzz Kohli was not on the flight that reached the Kerala city on Sunday as he has flown to Mumbai for personal reasons. “A source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that he went to Mumbai for personal reasons. Virat will rejoin the team soon,” A BCCI source said as quoted by Cricbuzz. Kohli is likely to join the team on Monday. 

Indian team is set to have an optional practice session at 2 PM on Monday but as the Kerala city is experiencing rain, that might be hampered. Thiruvananthapuram experienced rain on Sunday as well. There is a forecast of rain coming down in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, i.e., the date of India’s warm-up match.

Each team is playing two warm-up matches before the main draw of the World Cup kicks off on October 5. Notably, three practice matches have been have been affected due to rain. The India vs England game in Guwahati was called off without a ball being bowled. However, Thiruvananthapuram also experienced rain and two matches were affected in the city. 

India are hosting the marquee event for the first time since 2011. The Men in Blue will kickstart their proceedings in the tournament with a game against Australia on October 8, followed by the second outing against Afghanistan on October 11. The 2011 champions face Pakistan in the third outing on October 14.

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