Hyderabad Test: Virat Kohli backs Rahane, Karun likely to miss out

Tags: Bangladesh tour of India, 2017, India, Bangladesh, India Vs Bangladesh Only Test at Hyderabad, Feb 09-13, 2017, Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane

Published on: Feb 08, 2017

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Although Karun Nair smashed a triple hundred in the last Test he played,

Although Karun Nair smashed a triple hundred in the last Test he played, he is still likely to miss out when India face Bangladesh in the first Test at Hyderabad on Thursday. Indian skipper Virat Kohli has made it clear that Ajinkya Rahane, whom Nair replaced during the England series, will be the first choice, now that he has recovered from injury. Rahane had to sit out of the last two Tests against England owing to a finger injury.
Speaking to the press on the eve of the one-off Test, Kohli stated, “Karun did well but we cannot ignore what Jinx has done over the past two years. He has put in lots of hard work and has performed."
Kohli added that the team management will give full backing to players returning from injury. “The big challenge is to ensure that we back players making a comeback and keep the youngsters in the squad and groom them. We are lucky that we have a bench strength. We have a pool of 20-30 players from which we can choose," he added.
Bangladesh are playing their first-ever Test in India. But, Kohli asserted India will not take them lightly. “It is a historic moment. Bangladesh are a good side. They have good batsmen. They did well in New Zealand. But they don’t play enough cricket. They should play more to understand the mindset of Test cricket,” Kohli added.
The Indian captain praised the bowlers for the success the team has had at home recently. “It is the bowlers who have won us Test matches over the last one year. They have taken 20 wickets,” he concluded.
--By A Cricket Correspondent

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