Reports: Virat Kohli refuses to leave nets as rain stops first practice ahead of BGT 2024-25 opener

Virat Kohli. (Source – BCCI/Twitter)

Star Indian batter Virat Kohli who has been preparing hard for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25), starting on November 22, continued his batting practice and refused to leave the nets when rain halted the practice session.

The practice session on Tuesday was meant to be a routine training day, but Kohli who was coming off a lean patch, ensured to get the most out of it. A sheer dedication was displayed by the veteran to the core as kept on batting despite the whole team having left the ground. However, soon after once it began raining like cats and dogs, Virat Kohli was forced to leave the nets.

“Looks even more like this is the top 6 based on how they went in the nets before rain halted practice. Virat Kohli wasn’t keen to stop batting even as the rain got heavier before he had no option but to run off with the rest of the team,” renowned journalist Bharat Sundaresan wrote on his ‘X’ handle.

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KL Rahul is expected to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the absence of Rohit Sharma

Notably, Team India arrived in Perth last week and hasn’t stopped practice ever since. After a challenging preparatory intra-squad match at the Optus Stadium, the team was coming with injuries to key players like Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, along with the absence of captain Rohit Sharma.

KL Rahul, returning from an earlier injury, looked in good touch during an extended batting session. The team management appears to be leaning towards a lineup that includes Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, with Devdutt Padikkal potentially replacing the injured Gill. Kohli himself is expected to bat at number four. The slip cordon during fielding practice further hinted at the likely batting order.