Premier India batter Virat Kohli has been rested from the third T20I against South Africa on Tuesday. The final match of the series will be played on Kohli’s home ground Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi.
According to a report in news agency PTI, the 33-year-old flew to Mumbai on Monday morning, following India’s victory in Guwahati which helped them take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
“He has been rested from the final T20I,” a BCCI official told PTI.
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The report suggested that Kohli will join the India squad after the third T20I against Proteas. He will link up with the team in Mumbai from where they will leave for Australia on October 6 for the T20 World Cup.
The batting maverick has been in tremendous form recently as he scored an unbeaten 49 off 28 balls against the Proteas on Sunday as India registered a thrilling 16-run win in the high-scoring contest.
Earlier, Kohli was rested for the limited-overs series against West Indies and Zimbabwe. He faced criticism for missing the matches when he was going through a prolonged lean patch then.
He took a month off the game and did not even touch his bat for the duration of the break, a first for Kohli in 10 years by his own admission.
The batting maverick returned to the squad for the Asia Cup 2022 where he got his groove back and score crucial runs for his team. He ended up as the leading run-getter for India in the multi-nation tournament.
Kohli also ended his century drought with his maiden T20I ton against Afghanistan in the Super 4 match against Afghanistan. He followed up his good form against Australia with a match-winning fifty in the series-decider.
Since the Asia Cup, Kohli has amassed 404 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 141.75, including three fifties and a hundred.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, who was drafted into the side following Deepak Hooda’s injury, is expected to take Kohli’s place. The Mumbaikar has not been included in India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup but he will flew to Australia as a stand by player.
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