Team India prepares for the second ODI against England; the absence of Virat Kohli at the opening ODI made fitness concerns; the huge fan base remained unabated despite the star batsman’s absence; while the Indian squad was put up at its team hotel in Bhubaneswar ahead of the upcoming game in Barabati Stadium at Cuttack, Virat Kohli got a grand welcome by the zealous crowd.
A video shared by ANI showed the team’s arrival, in which a red carpet was rolled out for the players and the support staff. The head coach Gautam Gambhir and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar were some of the notable names spotted entering the hotel, but then came key players like Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
However, Kohli remained the centre of attraction, with fans cheering and erupting at his arrival. Kohli was supposed to play in the first ODI, but Rohit Sharma at the toss announced that he had suffered a knee injury the night before.
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Pre-match visuals also showed Kohli with his right knee strapped on, which had fans questioning whether he would be playing. However, Shubman Gill came out and calmed everyone by saying that it was not too serious and Kohli was fit as a fiddle during India’s practice session the day before.
#WATCH | Odisha | Team India arrives at a hotel in Bhubaneswar ahead of their 2nd ODI match against England.
India is leading the three-match series 1-0.#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/AthvlH0FLp
— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2025
It’s nothing serious. He (Kohli) was alright in practice on Wednesday, but woke up with some swelling in his knee this morning (Thursday). He will definitely come back for the second ODI,” Shubman Gill said in the post-match press conference.
Fans in Cuttack will be eager to see Kohli back in action, especially since Barabati Stadium is hosting its first ODI since December 2019, where Kohli scored a fluent 85 against the West Indies.
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If he returns, the Indian team will have a selection dilemma—whether to bench Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his ODI debut in Nagpur, or the in-form Shreyas Iyer, who smashed a quickfire 59 off 36 balls in the first match. India was leading the series 1-0 and the return of Kohli will surely make a solid batting line-up stronger. It is a game to watch for.
