Virat Kohli misses India's first nets session in Australia despite reaching first

The India national cricket team kicked off their preparations for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25) with a practice session at WACA in Perth. However, veteran batter Virat Kohli was absent from India’s first training session of the highly anticipated five-match Test series in Australia.

Virat Kohli was reportedly the first member of India to arrive in Australia ahead of the highly anticipated Test series starting on November 22 at Optus Stadium in Perth. According to a source from the Times of India, Kohli traveled to Australia before the first group of players for the upcoming Test series.

Virat Kohli Absent From India's First Practice Session at WACA in Perth

In a video shared by a Forbes cricket journalist on X (formerly known as Twitter), Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal were among the first batters to practice in Australia. However, Virat Kohli was not seen in the practice session despite being the first batter to arrive in Australia.

The pitch for the opening game in Perth is anticipated to offer fast bowlers good pace and bounce, like traditional Perth wickets. Jaiswal, with enough force to clear the nets, reportedly ended up landing on a nearby road, which was captured in a journalist's photo.

Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal having a hit in the WACA nets. India’s first training session of their tour. No sign of Virat Kohli yet pic.twitter.com/mxXy0SqgcL

— Tristan Lavalette (@trislavalette) November 12, 2024

Yashasvi Jaiswal stands as the second-highest run scorer in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. He has scored 1407 runs in 26 innings with an impressive average of 56.28, including two double centuries. Rohit Sharma is likely to be unavailable for the first Test of the five-match series in Perth.

India's practice sessions at WACA are covered by a black sheet to block public view. The team also opted to cancel their scheduled warm-up match against India ‘A’ and focused on extra net sessions, as coach Gautam Gambhir and the coaching staff believed this would better prepare the players for the series.

Virat Kohli Last Seen In Action During New Zealand Series

Virat Kohli was last seen in action during the three-match home Test series against New Zealand, where the men in blue suffered a disappointing 0-3 defeat. He also struggled to score runs during the series. The right-handed batter scored 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50, with just one fifty.

The 36-year-old loves batting in Test matches in Australia. Kohli has scored 1,352 runs in 25 innings at an average of 54.08. The cricketer has hit six centuries and four half-centuries. His best performance came during the 2014-15 series, where he scored 692 runs at an average of 86.50, including four tons.

Virat Kohli's Record in Australia in Test Matches:

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