12 years ago! Amid speculation over India future, here’s when Virat Kohli last played a List A match | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Speculation over the ODI futures of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has intensified, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appears in no hurry to make a decisive call on the two icons.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!With the August home series against Bangladesh called off, India’s next ODI assignment will be an away series against Australia from October 19–25. Whether Kohli and Rohit will feature in ODIs beyond that tour remains uncertain.
According to reports, one proposal being discussed in BCCI circles is for the duo to tune up for Australia by featuring in a couple of India A matches against Australia A in Kanpur (September 30, October 3, October 5), coinciding with the senior team’s first Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad.An intriguing question — if they need List A match practice — is when Kohli last played such a game outside of ODIs. The answer takes us back 12 years, to the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in Indore in 2013. Then Delhi skipper Kohli turned out for his state side in a clash against India Blue, which also featured current head coach Gautam Gambhir as opening batter and sharing the XI with Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra. Delhi fell short by 50 runs chasing 275, with Kohli scoring 23 off 28 balls, striking five fours, in the final.That Challenger Trophy ended with Delhi losing the final to India Blue, captained by Yuvraj Singh, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking 4 for 39 to seal the Man of the Match award. Kohli was run out in the 10th over of the run chase. Kohli is now the only active player from that Delhi team.Both Kohli, now based in London, and Rohit have been on extended breaks since the IPL. While Kohli has posted videos of indoor net sessions, Rohit recently returned to Mumbai and is expected to resume training shortly. Whether they walk out in blue again after October could hinge on decisions made in the coming weeks.
