Virat Kohli Perfects his Batting Ahead of India vs Bangladesh ODIs
India's Test captain Virat Kohli prepared himself for the ODIs against Bangladesh by spending a considerable period of time in the nets.
With the burden of Test captaincy off his shoulders for now, Virat Kohli was a pillar of concentration in the nets ahead of ODIs against Bangladesh. The formidable batsman spent time honing his skills during the training session in Mirpur on Tuesday - two days ahead of the first of three day-night match here.
Kohli was recently praised for his captaincy during the one-off drawn Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah. In an innings which saw two mammoth tons - by Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay - and a 98 from Ajinkya Rahane, Kohli failed to fire and managed just 14.
Repeated rain delays meant he never had the opportunity to swing his bat the second time. As a result, he crashed out of the top-10 rankings for Test batsmen released on Monday. While Kohli won't get an immediate chance to improve his 11th rank in the longest format, the ODIs at hand are a great opportunity for him to hit big.
Dropped to fourth spot from second in the ODI list for batsmen, Kohli has suffered from the fact that India have not played any 50-over matches since losing to Australia in the World Cup semi-final on March 26.
Bangladesh though provide a perfect opportunity to the ODI vice-captain to set the records in his favour. On Tuesday, Kohli spent a considerable period of time perfecting his batting skills. Expected to bat at the usual No. 3, a lot would depend on his form even if it is a given that the Indian line-up bats deep.
The overall attack will once again be under captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who arrived in Dhaka a day earlier. He was joined by ODI specialists Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Mohit Sharma, among a few others. The fresh legs hardly wasted much time and joined Kohli and other teammates in the net session that ended with the customary game of football.
© AFP
Kohli recently said that he missed not having Dhoni around during the Fatullah Test and that discussions with him always helped. On Tuesday, he was seen in a chirpy mood with Dhoni. Come Thursday, he will once again get a chance to shine under the guidance of Dhoni.