Virat Kohli missed India’s first ODI against England at Nagpur on Thursday and raised worries about whether he could play the other contests and the Champions Trophy as well. Kohli is injured with swelling in his right knee and thus missed the match. He was seen warming up with the rest of the team, knee in heavy strapping.
However, Shubman Gill has quashed the fears over the fitness of the former captain.
“It is nothing serious. He was fine yesterday (Wednesday) at practice, but woke up with some swelling in his knee this morning (Thursday). He will be back for the second ODI,” Gill said on Disney+Hotstar.
Gill top-scored for India with 87 and missed his century by a mere 13 runs as India won by four wickets.
The top-order batter said he did not get a bit emotional in touching his ton, because he would have played that same shot which ultimately got him out in the 60s.
Jos Buttler took a diving catch at mid-on off Saqib Mahmood’s bowling as Gill mis-timed a shot while trying to build-up the tempo of the innings.
“No, I wasn’t thinking about my century. I was focused on the field placements and played my shots accordingly. I was wanting to dominate the bowler, and would have played the same shot even if I was in my 60s,” Gill said.
Gill, a regular opener in ODIs, said there was absolutely no problem facing the first deliveries as he did get No 3 in the series against England.
“I play No.3 in Tests and thus made the swap without any difficulty. Above all, it’s a challenge in that position because you must read the match situation. If the side loses two quick wickets, you should think wisely, and if the team starts really well, then you carry the momentum. My approach was simple: play according to the situation.”
Gill informed that young Indian players frequently prefer to sweep and reverse-sweep against spinners; it was in no sense a strategy adopted by the team.
“It is an individual’s choice and not the team strategy. Every batsman with a plan to target certain areas. Many players practice varieties of sweeps and reverse sweeps during training for a greater set of options while batting.”
On his 94-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (59) for the third wicket, Gill said once they had seized up the field, runs became easy.
“We lost two early wickets, but the plan was to play according to the field, not to hold back. There would be those phases in a match where the line and lengths tend to become predictable, thus making it that much easier to score.”
