India cricket team star Virat Kohli is all set to return to action for the first time since the series against New Zealand earlier this year in the ENG vs IND ODI series. With the three-match series scheduled to commence from July 14, the former Indian captain was seen coaching current skipper Shubman Gill in Birmingham ahead of the 1st ODI. Kohli will be eager to get back to action after missing the series against Afghanistan due to an injury.
Virat Kohli coaches Shubman Gill
As per The Times of India, Kohli was involved in an animated conversation with Gill for around 30 minutes during the team’s two-hour long training session on Saturday. The report states that the discussion involved the former Indian captain offering inputs on shot selection, strategy, and ways to tackle the England bowlers. Virat displayed an array of strokes for Shubman to take note of.
Kohli has played 33 ODIs in England – the most number of 50-over format games that he has played outside India. Virat has amassed 1349 runs at an average of 51.88 in England, and has scored one hundred and 12 fifties. The ex-Indian skipper is a little shy of over 200 runs to clock 16000 runs in the 50-over fomat.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill be playing in England for the first time in the 50-over format. This will also be his first series in England as the ODI captain. He has played four ODIs against ENG (all in India) in which he has scored 268 runs at an average of 67. This includes three fifty-plus scores. The last time Gill faced England, he slammed a 112-run knock off 102 deliveries.
Team India’s 1st practice session
Saturday’s practice session also saw Rohit Sharma sweating it out in the nets while Jasprit Bumrah and Gurnoor Brar bowled to batters with deliveries that hit the deck hard, thereby extracting bounce. The report states that while Kuldeep Yadav had an extended session, local spinners bowled to the Indian batters in a bid to help them get acclimatized with the English conditions. The support staff who were present in the nets session included fielding coach T Dileep, spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutale, throwdown specialist Dayasagar.
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