Virat Kohli seen rejoining India World Cup squad after ‘family emergency’ in Mumbai

Virat Kohli has rejoined India’s World Cup team after flying to Mumbai due to an unknown family emergency.

Kohli on Wednesday flew from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram, which was the venue for India’s second warm-up match against Netherlands, according to media reports.

Kohli and the entire Indian World Cup contingent flew to Chennai from the Kerala capital ahead of their opening fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

India are set to kick-start their World Cup campaign on 8 October against Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Team India will be playing across nine venues in the World Cup, which is due to begin in a day.

Kohli, meanwhile, put up a cheeky message meant for his friends and acquaintances on his Instagram account.

“As we approach the World Cup, I would humbly like to let all my friends know to not request me for tickets all through the tournament. Enjoy from your homes please,” he wrote in his Instagram Story followed by a laughing emoji.

In videos that have been circling on social media, Team India is seen landing at the Chennai airport and entering a team bus.

Kohli was with Team India in Guwahati for their first warm-up fixture against England. However, the match was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain. Instead of flying with the team to Kerala for their second warm-up match against Netherlands, Kohli went home on 30 September due to personal reasons. In the process, he also skipped India’s training session in Thiruvananthapuram.

However, it was later reported that a source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the training session was “optional”.

Meanwhile, India’s second warm-up game against Netherlands was also washed out due to persistent rain in Thiruvananthapuram. India are the only team set to enter the World Cup without batting or bowling in the warm-up matches.

Apart from Kohli, other players such as captain Rohit Sharma, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, and pacer Mohammed Shami also skipped the optional training session, which was attended by the likes of Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and the veteran spin pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

With no game practice in the warm-up game, the Indian management are in a bit of a mix in regards to finalising their team combination. It is not hidden anymore that they face plenty of challenges when it comes to sealing their middle-order – and to a certain extent – their bowling department.