T20 World Cup 2024: Major doubts over Virat Kohli's participation in this T20 WC fixture

India batter Virat Kohli is yet to join Team India for the T20 World Cup 2024. All the players have started training together for the tournament and one of the notable misses is the premier batter, who so far seems to be in India with his family. 

The reports in ESPNCricinfo suggest that Virat Kohli might run against time for India’s warmup game against Bangladesh. The match between the two teams will take place on 1st June and it will also be the first match played at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York. 

There were recent reports in the media that Virat Kohli had asked for a short break after the IPL 2024. This made BCCI not process his paperwork. The reports claimed that he would be traveling to New York on the 30th. Speaking to Indian Express, BCCI stated: 

"Kohli had informed us way beforehand that he will be joining the team late and that is why the BCCI has kept his visa appointment for a later date. He is expected to fly out to New York in the early morning of May 30th. The BCCI has agreed to his request.” 

With Virat Kohli to travel for New York on 30th May, it won’t be possible for him to get match fit for the warmup game. Therefore India is likely to play the practice game against Bangladesh without him at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York. 

India team kick-started their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024. They were seen hitting the ground running. India will be keen to win the tournament as the players looked in decent touch in the IPL 2024. They would want to carry on the good form and win the title. 

📍 New York

Bright weather ☀️, good vibes 🤗 and some foot volley ⚽️

Soham Desai, Strength & Conditioning Coach gives a glimpse of #TeamIndia's light running session 👌👌#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/QXWldwL3qu

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 29, 2024

Eased into our routines here, the idea was to just get used to the time zone - Soham Desai, the team's strength and conditioning coach

India’s strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai talked about the drills that he made the players go through. He stated that their first goal is to get used to the time zone. He said that he wants players to ease into the practice so that they can be ready for the first games. Speaking in a video posted by BCCI, he stated: 

"Eased into our routines here, the idea was to just get used to the time zone. They have been away for two-and-a-half months from us [the national team setup]. Just getting them together to know where they stand, and what needs to be done before the World Cup was the goal. 

“[The] goal is to spend 45 minutes to an hour there on the park to again get going. We want to see them move. We want to see them run so that we can put enough plans in place for each guy to be ready for the first game.”

India will play their first game of the World Cup against Ireland on 5th June. After that, they will take on Pakistan on June 9, USA on June 12, and Canada on June 15. The first three games will be played in New York and the last in Lauderhill, Florida.