T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli in New York, here's why he didn't play vs BAN?

Virat Kohli, despite joining the team on May 31st, 2024, did not play in the team's first and only warm-up match for the T20 World Cup 2024 against Bangladesh.

Why Virat Kohli didn't play against Bangladesh in the warm-up match?

India skipper Rohit Sharma clarified at the toss that all the other players except Kohli were available to play in the arm-up in which India won the toss and chose to bat first. It was mainly due to the jet lag of the 16-hour flight that Kohli took to reach the Big Apple. 

However, it turned out that Yashasvi Jaiswal too was rested along with Kohli as Sanju Samson opened the innings alongside skipper Rohit and Rishabh Pant abetted at number three. 

What happened in the IND vs BAN warm-up match?

Winning the toss and batting first, India lost Samson early. However, Rishabh Pant scored fifty and was retired hurt. Hardik Pandya made an aggressive and unbeaten 40 as the Men in Blue posted 182/5. 

It looked like a par total but was made highly difficult to chase by early blows from Arshdeep Singh and other bowlers. Bangladesh were 41/5 before two old guards Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan got together to add xx runs for the sixth wicket and provide some respectability to the total. India eventually won the match by 62 runs. 

When did Virat Kohli join Team India in New York?

On Friday, Kohli joined Team India for the T20 World Cup, five days after his other team members.

Having travelled for 16 hours to reach the 'Big Apple', his participation in the warm-up match was always dicey. He did do batting drills and net practice ahead of the start of the warm-up game but did not play in the match. 

Kohli has scored 741 runs in 15 IPL games. He doesn't need much match practice, and he will still get three quality net sessions before the first game against Ireland on June 5.