Team India talismanic batter Virat Kohli has been reportedly granted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, slated to take place in the West Indies and USA on June 2.
The first batch of India squad, including players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and others flew to New York. Head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey too travelled with the squad.
India squad is expected to arrive in New York on May 26, Sunday, where they will play a warm-up match against Bangladesh at the newly built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 1.
However, Virat Kohli not being part first batch group raised questions. Kohli was supposed to leave with first batch of the India squad for New York but it has been delayed. It was reported that there was some delay in Kohli's paperwork and will fly fly out with the second batch of India squad on May 30.
However, as per the report by Indian Express, the legendary batter asked for a break from BCCI which has been granted by the board and thus, his visa appointment has been scheduled for a later date. His availability for the warm-up match against Bangladesh remains doubtful. Apart from Kohli, the BCCI granted permission to Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya to fly to New York later.
Though it is personal decision by Virat Kohli to take a break after playing IPL 2024, fans are unhappy for taking a break ahead of an important tournament. Netizens criticized India batting legend for playing IPL season but remaining unavailable for the national team ahead of the showpiece event. Others have criticized BCCI for giving privileges to star players.
Here's how Netizens reacted
Virat Kohli was in sublime form in the IPL 2024 as he amassed 741 runs, including a century and 5 fifties, at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.79. His best performance came against Rajasthan Royals, wherein he played a brilliant innings of 113 off 72 balls, but went in vain Jos Buttler's unbeaten century helped RR chase down 184-run target.
Kohli is likely to win Orange Cap as he is currently leading run-scorer chart of IPL 2024. Kohli's brilliant run of form in IPL is a big positive for Team India ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.
