Virat Kohli wished South African pacer Dale Steyn a speedy recovery, after the latter was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. “I am really feeling bad for Dale. He was bowling very well. I feel bad for him because he's a friend and he's really motivated to perform for his country. I can understand his frustration, those niggles and injuries are just not going his way. I wish him a speedy recovery," Kohli was quoted by ANI during pre-match press conference.
Steyn suffered a second shoulder injury, which has not responded to treatment, ruling him out of bowling for the foreseeable future. The speedster has been replaced by left-arm fast bowler Beuran Hendricks.
Kohli and Steyn shares a great bond as both has played for IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for a long time. Even in 2019, Steyn made a comeback to the team mid-way during the tournament, but had to move out of the tournament due to injury.
Kohli also pointed out South Africa is still a good team even with replacements of injured players. "Injuries are part of the game. These things can't be predicted. I'm sure any team that gets hit with injuries is never a good thing. Still, South Africa are talented and very dangerous side on their day. Even with replacements, they would be a very strong side," Kohli said in a pre-match press conference.
India will start their World Cup 2019 journey today with the match against South Africa. South has lost two matches against England and Bangladesh in World Cup 2019 tournament. Both the teams have faced each other 4 times in World Cup tournaments till now, with India winning 1 and South Africa winning 3 matches.
