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Former India captain Virat Kohli batted at the nets and took throw-downs during India’s first practice session ahead of the T20 series against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, despite a protracted dry spell. Kohli was the first to enter the nets, where he batted from both ends before going for the drill and taking throwdowns from the Indian support staff.
Later, he had a long net session that lasted almost 45 minutes. India captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid were also spotted speaking with curator Sujan Mukherjee for quite some time.
Vikram Rathour, Team India’s batting coach, talked to the media ahead of the team’s training session at the Eden Gardens and informed them that he is unconcerned about the situation.
“I haven’t had any specific talks with Virat Kohli.” I don’t believe he’s been in poor form because he made plenty of runs in ODIs and T20s last year. Yes, his series against the West Indies was abysmal. However, he has been hitting the ball brilliantly in the nets. “I am certain that he will recover quickly,” Rathour said during a virtual press conference on Monday (February 14).
In white-ball cricket, the Indian ace last scored a century against the West Indies at a one-day international in Port of Spain in August 2019, and since then, he has amassed 10 50-plus scores but has failed to convert them into a century. He has yet to score in any format.
He hasn’t scored an international century in almost two years, and his most recent century came against Bangladesh in India’s inaugural pink-ball Day/Night Test in November 2019 at Eden Gardens.
The CAB has asked the BCCI to allow spectators.
The first T20I between India and the West Indies will be played without spectators, but the Cricket Association of Bengal is ‘hopeful’ that the Board will change its decision for the second and third T20Is.
In a statement, CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said, “The Cricket Association of Bengal on Monday again requested the BCCI to allow spectators for the remaining matches.” “Once the CAB receives feedback from the Board, it will notify all stakeholders.”
Only about 2000 match representatives and sponsors would be present for the opening match. “Only top tier and hospitality boxes for sponsors and match representatives have been approved by the BCCI,” he added.
Dalmiya had intended to hold the matches with spectators after the state government approved a capacity of 75 percent. However, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly took the local association’s side and stated that as part of the Board’s safety-first strategy, spectators will not be allowed into the stadium.
Dalmiya then asked the Board to allow fans to enter. In November of last year, 70% of spectators were allowed to attend the India-New Zealand T20I.
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