Talismanic batter Virat Kohli is expected to join the Indian team here on Monday after flying to Mumbai from Guwahati due to a personal emergency. The Indian team landed in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday evening ahead of their second warm-up match against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
A report in Cricbuzz said a source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that he went to Mumbai for personal reasons. "Virat will rejoin the team soon," the source was further quoted as saying in the report.
India’s first warm-up match against England at the Barsapara Cricket Ground in Guwahati was cancelled due to rain without a single ball bowled on Saturday. The report added that there is a chance that India's second warm-up match could also be affected by rain, either completely or partially.
Their practice session on Monday is also subject to weather being fine, which has thunderstorms being forecasted. “India will train from 2 to 5pm at the St Xaviers College Cricket Ground,” said an update from the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA).
The warm-up matches in Thiruvananthapuram have been affected by rain till now. The South Africa-Afghanistan game on September 29 was abandoned due to rain, while the Australia-Netherlands clash on September 30 became a 23-over contest but wasn’t completed due to rain.
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South Africa are scheduled to play New Zealand in their second warm-up match on Monday before India play their game against Netherlands on Tuesday. India, the 1983 and 2011 champions, will open its campaign against five-time champions Australia on October 8 at the MA Chidambaram in Chennai. It’s the first time India is solely hosting the Men’s ODI World Cup.