Indian batting star Virat Kohli was spotted leaving for South Africa from Mumbai in a video that has gone viral over social media. In the video, the right-handed batter was also spotted giving in to a selfie from a fan before entering the airport to board for the rainbow nation.
Kohli has been rested from the limited-overs leg of the all-format tour of South Africa, having played in all the matches of the 2023 World Cup. With the World Test Championship (WTC) points at stake in the two red-ball games and India targeting their first away series win over South Africa, the selectors have named a full-strength squad, including Rohit Sharma, who will return as captain.
Virat Kohli has a formidable Test record in South Africa:
Meanwhile, the former Indian captain is the only one in the current batting line-up with an average of over 50 in Tests played in South Africa. Kohli, who first played a Test in the rainbow nation in 2013, has accumulated 719 runs in 7 matches, averaging 51.36.
The best of 153 came at the Centurion in 2018, but Team India lost that match, thereby also relinquishing the series. With the visitors having never won a series in South Africa, the reliance is likely to come heavily on Kohli to help them break the drought.
The Delhi-born cricketer topped the run-scoring charts in the 2023 World Cup, aggregating 765 runs in 7 matches at 95.62 with 3 centuries. Hence, India will hope to see him continue the same against Proteas' formidable bowling unit.
