Updated January 3rd, 2022 at 13:54 IST
IND vs SA: Virat Kohli's exclusion from playing 11 for 2nd Test leaves netizens surprised
Virat Kohli was left out of the Indian playing XI for the second Test match against South Africa, which begins at Wanderers, Johannesburg on Monday.
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The Indian cricket team faces South Africa, in the second Test match of India’s tour of South Africa, being played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, without the services of the Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli. In the absence of Kohli, KL Rahul walked out for the toss ahead of the first day’s play on Monday which left the cricket fans wondering about the reason of Kohli not playing in the match. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) took to their official Twitter handle on Monday and shared the playing XI for the Wanderers Test and also informed captain Kohli sit out of the match due to an upper back spasm.
Toss Update - KL Rahul has won the toss and elects to bat first in the 2nd Test.
— BCCI (@BCCI)
Captain Virat Kohli misses out with an upper back spasm.#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/2YarVIea4H
Irfan Pathan and RP Singh opine on Kohli's absence-
Cricket fans on social media were quick to respond to the development of Kohli missing the first Test match of the year for India and took to Twitter to express their views on the same. Among the many tweets about Kohli, two of the most notable ones were from former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan and RP Singh, who revealed their thoughts on Kohli’s exclusion. Pathan in his tweet said, “Regardless of current form Virat Kohli not playing is a huge boost for South Africa not just as a player but the aggressive leader!”
Regardless of current form Virat Kohli not playing is a huge boost for South Africa not just as a player but the aggressive leader!
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan)
At the same time, former India pacer RP Singh opined on the subject and said, “#Kohli missing the first match of the series of 2022 was not something any fan would have thought of. But, this Indian team is in form and still capable of winning the series at #Wanderers”.
#Kohli missing the first match of the series of 2022 was not something any fan would have thought of. But, this Indian team is in form and still capable of winning the series at #Wanderers pic.twitter.com/WDUVETTevj
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh)
How did the fans react to Virat Kohli not playing in the Wanderers Test?
Meanwhile, on one hand, fans wondered the real reason for Kohli’s absence, on the other hand, many fans hailed KL Rahul for his incredible turnaround in Test cricket, just in the space of six months. Rahul earlier competed against Mayank Agarwal and others for the opening slot of India, but following his incredible show in England, he has gone on to become one of the pillars of India across formats.
What a turnaround for Kl Rahul in test cricket just in 6 months 🥳❤️
— Guru (@okguru123)
From not having spot in playing 11 to captain the team!! pic.twitter.com/7UbkSdVkHo
If Kohli was there, then I think rahane or Pujara one might have been dropped. But KL, coming in as a new captain. It is good that both have been picked to maintain the balance and the experience within the team and in the slips too.
— Divyansh Kathotia (@imdiv_k)
Would have liked ashwin to be the captain in Virat's absence.Anyway good luck KL and Team India .Just win this match!!
— shashank sri (@ravia123ash)
Not a good sign to start of the year, two big players missed in an important overseas match😒?
— Human (@Human4567832)
(Image: AP)
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Published January 3rd, 2022 at 13:54 IST