India head coach Rahul Dravid on Monday commented that a decision will be taken on India’s batting talisman Virat Kohli’s availability for the third Test against England after the team management connects with the former captain.
Jasprit Bumrah’s breathtaking bowling display in Vizag and Ravichandran Ashwin’s beautiful three-for helped India overcome a fighting England as they levelled the five-match series 1-1 with a 106-run win in the second Test at Visakhapatnam on Monday.
Virat was named in the Team India for the first two Tests against England. However, he subsequently withdrew from the first two Tests citing personal reasons. India lost the first match by 28 runs.
The head coach hinted that the team for the remaining games of the series will be revealed in the coming days and stated that the selectors will be in a better position to respond to the frequently asked question about Kohli’s availability for the Tests.
“I think it’s best to ask the selectors. I am sure they are the best people to answer ahead of the team selection for the next three Tests. We will get to that. I am sure there will be a selection over the next few days. We will connect with him and find out,” Rahul Dravid said during a post-match press conference on Monday in Vizag.
Apart from Kohli, the hosts also missed experienced players – wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul and star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the second match. However, India rode on the brilliance of young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s double ton, Shubman Gill’s century in the second innings and good bowling display in Vizag to seal victory in Vizag.
Admitting that India were under pressure in the game in a few situations, Dravid also said that the individual performances helped them get the win.
“We were put under pressure at various times, but I think a couple of individual brilliances kept us in the game in the first couple of days. Yashasvi’s brilliant innings – 209 in that first innings. And then Bumrah’s spell on the first two days kept us or got us ahead by 140. And then, we needed a bit more of a team performance over days three and four to get us over the line,” Dravid said.
India and England have a 10-day break before the action heads to Rajkot for the third Test, on February 15.
