England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, affirmed their readiness to face Virat Kohli in the potential return for the third Test of the ongoing series. The ex-New Zealand captain praised Kohli as a formidable competitor, emphasizing that bowlers need to earn their success against him.
Kohli, who skipped the first two Tests for personal reasons, remains uncertain for the third Test starting on February 15 in Rajkot. Despite the uncertainty, Kohli is a highly impactful player, boasting an impressive average of 42.36 against England in 28 Tests, accumulating 1991 runs.
In an interview with TalkSport, McCullum expressed his hope that everything is well with Kohli’s family. He believes Kohli’s return would significantly enhance India’s squad. The 42-year-old further explained:
“Virat’s one of the greatest players of the game has seen. No doubt it improves this squad. As we have said throughout, the depth in Indian cricket, the talent in India is immense. If Virat is coming back… we hope everything is well with his family.”
“We will look forward to that challenge too. He is a great competitor. I know him very well and I enjoyed playing against him, I enjoyed our team playing against him. And if you have success against the best, I am sure you have earned it.”
Considering Shreyas Iyer’s moderate scores in both matches, the 35-year-old is expected to replace him if he returns for the third Test.
“The progress of the young spinners has been exceptional”- Brendon McCullum
McCullum praised the significant positive of the young spinners’ growth within England’s squad, emphasizing the importance of adaptability to varying conditions. He mentioned, as quoted by the BBC:
“The development of the young spinners has been fantastic. Not just their skillset but their passion to want the big moments. The pitches in the first two Tests have been very different and they needed different styles of play. I’m sure the third Test will be different again. We’ve just got to be sure we’re adaptable.”
In the absence of Jack Leach in the second Test, the inexperienced trio of Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir, and Tom Hartley delivered impressive performances on a docile pitch. Together, they claimed a total of 15 wickets across both innings in the second Test.
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