India vs Australia, World Cup Final: Virat Kohli skips optional practice session amid suffering cramps in semi-final

Veteran India batter Virat Kohli on Saturday skipped the optional training session for the second day in a row, after having suffered from cramps in Mumbai’s extreme heat during the semi-final against New Zealand.

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Kohli opted to skip India’s optional practice session in order to remain fresh for the Cricket World Cup final.



India are scheduled to take on Australia in the final of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Amid Team India’s hectic travel schedule, the support staff have their task cut out as far as managing players’ workload was concerned.

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According to news agency PTI, Kohli along with India’s three premier pacers Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, were given a rest day and did not take part in the pre-final practice session at the Motera.

Kohli had a tough time battling cramps during his 106-ball century against New Zealand in the semi-final in Mumbai, which helped him go past Sachin Tendulkar for most ODI tons.

Kohli, though, did field for a good part of the semi-final during New Zealand’s run chase.

Kohli has had a successful World Cup with the bat so far, and is the leading run-scorer this edition with 711 runs from 10 matches.

Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma had another look at the pitch on Saturday, and noted a small difference from the one when they took on Pakistan on 14 October.

“That wicket (Pakistan game), there was no grass on it. This wicket has some grass on it. That wicket looked a lot more drier than this one – I don’t know, maybe you know, I still haven’t looked today how the wicket is but from my understanding obviously it’s slightly going to be on the slower side.,” Rohit said at the press conference.

“It’s not going to change too much, but it’s always nice to see the pitch on the day of the game and then assess what you want to do,” added Rohit.

While there is a small chance that Ravichandran Ashwin could feature in the final, Rohit did not give any team news away just yet.

“We haven’t decided on the XI. anyone from the 15 can play. We will assess the wicket and decide on. We have to look at the wicket and then decide and of course the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition,” said the 36-year-old.