Indian left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh came to Virat Kohli’s defense after the senior batter registered a duck in the Perth ODI against Australia. Stating that “form” is merely a term when it comes to a player like Kohli, Arshdeep expressed confidence that the star batter will bounce back with big scores in the upcoming matches.
Australia defeated India by seven wickets (DLS method) in the first ODI on Sunday, October 19, in Perth. In a rain-affected encounter reduced to 26 overs per side, India could only manage 136/9. Virat Kohli, featuring in his first international game since March, looked far from his fluent best and was dismissed for an eight-ball duck.
Struggling to find his timing, he chased a wide ball from Mitchell Starc and ended up giving a catch at backward point. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Arshdeep downplayed the dismissal and said (via Revsportz):
“He (Virat Kohli) has played more than 300 ODIs for India, so form is just a word for him, he knows how to get going, and it’s like a blessing to be in the same dressing room with him. Going forward, I feel there’ll be a lot of runs for him in this series as well, and talking about the format he is playing, he has mastered this one.”
“Both Are Proper Bowlers’ Captains” – Arshdeep Singh On Playing Under Gill And Rohit
The Perth ODI marked Shubman Gill’s debut as India’s ODI captain, having been appointed as Rohit Sharma’s replacement for the series. When questioned about the difference between the two skippers, Arshdeep Singh responded:
“ODIs I have played very less, so I can’t tell the difference yet, but I’d say both of them are proper bowler’s captains. They give you proper freedom, and even today Shubman, whatever plans we had, he said, ‘bowl freely to your plans and just enjoy the moment’. We knew we didn’t have that many runs but we just wanted to express ourselves, that was his message.”
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