World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli could miss India's warm-up match vs Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram

Former India skipper Virat Kohli could miss the warm-up match against the Netherlands on Tuesday as he was yet to rejoin the team by late Monday night, a media report said. Kohli did not travel with Team India from Guwahati to Thiruvananthapuram as he flew back to Mumbai due to personal reasons.

India vs Netherlands: Warm-up match preview and LIVE streaming

Now, according to a report by Cricbuzz, Kohli did not rejoin the team till late Monday evening (2 October). However, the Indian team management has insisted that the star batter is well aware of the deadline and will arrive in Kerala soon. “He will be arriving soon and should be available for selection in tomorrow’s game,” a team official said.

There were several media reports that Kohli took a detour from Guwahati to meet his wife Anushka Sharma. The couple is reportedly expecting their second child, three years after their first daughter Vamika was born. Neither Kohli nor Anushka, however, has revealed anything from their side. After India’s first warm-up game, Kohli sought leave from the team management, citing a family emergency.

Despite the absence of Kohli, the Indian team went through an uninterrupted training session at the KCA – St. Xavier’s College Cricket Ground in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday afternoon. It was not a mandatory session. KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were the players who attended the practice session and sweated out for nearly two and a half hours.

Team India will look to make the most out of the Netherlands game as it will be their final assignment before going into the World Cup, beginning on 5 October. After the match, the Indian squad, except for captain Rohit Sharma, will take a flight to Chennai, where they will play their opening game against Australia on 8 October. Rohit will join the side later after participating in the customary pre-World Cup Captains’ Day event in Ahmedabad.