Windies vs India: Virat Kohli set to play all three formats on the tour

Virat Kohli’s mission to win India their third world title in cricket saw a sudden halt at Old Trafford on July 10 when New Zealand stunned the Men in Blue by 18 runs in the rain-marred first semi-final. The Indian top-order saw a rare collapse that day as the top three returned into the hut with just five runs on the board and even a late-order surge from Ravindra Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni wasn’t enough to take India across the line. After the game, India captain Virat Kohli said that 40 minutes of bad cricket put them outside the tournament. Till then, India was one of the top teams in the tournament and lost only one game.

Once the tournament got over and reports of a rift in the Indian side made the headlines, Kohli’s captaincy seemed to be under some kind of challenge. There were also thoughts that India’s captaincy could be split in the limited- and long formats hereafter with Rohit Sharma taking charge of the colored cricket. It was also being speculated that Kohli could be rested for the limited-overs series in the West Indies starting August 3 with a T20I set to be held in Florida, United States, along with Jasprit Bumrah.

Kohli wants to leave World Cup disappointment behind

However, those reports were proved to be untrue as it has been confirmed that Kohli will be traveling for the limited-over series as well. It is understood that dejected with India’s World Cup debacle, Kohli wants to start fresh and turn things around from the tour of the Caribbeans. India will play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests in the month-long tour.

According to a report in India Today, Kohli has told the selectors that he will be joining the team for the shorter formats as well. This will be the second time India will be touring the Windies under Kohli’s captaincy after 2016. Then Kohli had led India in a four-Test series while India played in a two-match T20I series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Virat has been playing non-stop since Australia toured India in February-March. Prior to that, he was rested for the final two ODIs and the T20I series in New Zealand after a long summer in Australia where India played in three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs. After the Australia series at home, the 30-year-old played in the entire Indian Premier League before leaving for the World Cup. He scored 442 runs in the World Cup with five consecutive hundreds but could not hit a single century, something he is known to do often.