Australia tour of India (Feb '17/Mar '17)

[Bigby Wolf]

And what if he breaks down in the middle of the 2nd or 3rd session of Day 1 or Day 2? Wouldn't that be a bigger blow to the Indian team? A player/batsman short for the rest of the match will be a huge disadvantage, just as is the case when a frontline bowler limps back to the pavilion while bowling (remember Zaheer Khan during the England tour?)

I agree that having him onboard will help India psychologically but the cons outweigh the pros here.

PS:

India captain Virat Kohli has said he will play the fourth and deciding Test against Australia in Dharamsala only if 100% fit

Virat himself cited the same reason as you mentioned in your post.
Injury can get aggravated while fielding, says Kohli - The Hindu

Personally i want him to play the deciding finale of this very good series and perhaps the biggest test match for India this season (odds are heavily stacked aginst them) irrespective of the injury because him being present on the field its a different environment all together.
Everyone have their eyeballs is on him be it spectators,Cameras,commentary,media...

 

[asprin]

... because him being present on the field its a different environment all together.

I concur. But it can backfire too. If he gets injured and is declared unfit to play, imagine the mentally of the other players in the team.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

I concur. But it can backfire too. If he gets injured and is declared unfit to play, imagine the mentally of the other players in the team.

Well let's see what does the team management and Kohli himself decide on his inclusion in playing xi .
And if Kohli and team management are cynical and worried about the extent of injury i reckon he will not be playing in Tomorrow's match.

 

[ParkedTheBus]

I'm surprised to see people prioritise the Champions Trophy over this series. For me, this series is much more important. As we saw last time around in 2013, most teams treat the CT as an opportunity to blood in new players rather than as a trophy that they cannot miss out on. If Kohli has to sacrifice the CT for the next match, then he should. Most ODI teams right now (except maybe England) are going through a lean patch and Kohli or not, India will be able to win the trophy. In this series, on the other hand, India need his presence.

 

[rishabh9627]

There is no genuine reason why Kohli should not play the 4th test
First of all he has injured his right shoulder and as explained by the commentators in the 3rd test that for a right handed batsman the dominating hand is the left one and there is very little use of right shoulder in batting
Secondly even in the 3rd test he fielded for a whole australian innings and also came out to bat although he got out early but at no point of time was having problems in batting.
Even his mode of dismissal was a full fledged straight drive
Third I just dont understand why Kohli is saying such stupid things in press conferences that all the players in our team are treated equally and and if he passes the fitness test then only he will play because everybody goes through the same process and he is not special
Doesn't he understand the importance of himself being in the test . Everybody saw the subdued environment during the 3rd test when rahane was captaining. No croud cheer and even the close in fielders were not chirping enough.
And about getting hurt in fielding , well he is the captain and he has to set the fields so definitely he can place himself to slip or short cover or short midwicket which is their most of the time and will also be safe.
And he was saying that every body needs to be 100% fit but doesn't he know that kl rahul already played two test match with straps on his left shoulder and was still able to bat and score bulk of the runs for the team.

 

[SaiSrini]

Perhaps the most absurd post I've seen. You're saying if Kohli plays then we need an extra batsman? If Kohli doesn't play then you play a bowler? IMO, it makes no sense. I think you can forget about Jadeja being dropped even though you have a right to an opinion. If India must drop a spinner, it has to be Ashwin, not Jadeja.

I did indeed think about dropping Ashwin (not that I am the guy in charge of choosing the team; arm chair critics we all are) but on a wicket like Dharmashala, Ashwin with his height, bounce and turn would (I strongly believe) be a better force than Jadeja. Also Ashwin's batting style/technique is better suited when the wicket has something for the seamers (Ashwin had good success batting in conditions like Australia).

I did mention that I preferred the 7-4 combo for Dharmashala. But if you lose Kohli, I do not want the team to be too light on experience by losing both Kohli and either of Jadeja/Ashwin. That's why I preferred to retain Jadeja (in the event Kohli does not play) so that we can minimize the damage of losing two huge star players. In this scenario, either Ashwin or Jadeja assume the 7th batsman's role and do much lesser bowling than they are used to. This, to me, is not absurd, at all. Its basically thinking what you do not want to lose the most.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I'm surprised to see people prioritise the Champions Trophy over this series. For me, this series is much more important. As we saw last time around in 2013, most teams treat the CT as an opportunity to blood in new players rather than as a trophy that they cannot miss out on. If Kohli has to sacrifice the CT for the next match, then he should. Most ODI teams right now (except maybe England) are going through a lean patch and Kohli or not, India will be able to win the trophy. In this series, on the other hand, India need his presence.

In the sub-continent, ICC tournaments hold more prestige and value than test matches.

 

[AliB]

On the face of the fake rumors spreading craps.

 

[Satan666]

Kohli out, Rahane leads, Kuldeep debuts

 

[SaiSrini]

Kuldeep Yadav in? Is he in for Kohli? If not, who is he in for? Wow, this is a stunning surprise. No matter who he is in for, this is a massive decision to include a wrist spinner in the XI for a wicket like Dharmashala which has a tinge of green on it.

Wait, the news was that Shami and Iyer were added to the test squad. Cricinfo's squad list does not even feature Kuldeep as being in the squad. How on earth did he sneak in? Or is Cricinfo confusing him with Jayant Yadav (since both are Yadav)?

Its official! Kuldeep replaces Kohli. Its a completely out of the blue move, but I am inclined to be happy because Kuldeep was long overdue an opportunity and what better time to get it.

 

[zwarrior]

Bhuvi is in !!! Yes. Come on Bhuvi. Pick up early wickets please.

So sad Kohli is missing out. Big loss for us.

 

[SaiSrini]

Good thing with Bhuvi is he can bowl really long spells and lots of overs. And Bhuvi can make the new ball talk potentially, if he is up to it. I was expecting a third seamer as the fifth bowler but Kuldeep is a surprise. Wonder what's in store on the pitch.

 

[Satan666]

Lets keep an eye on Kuldeep's action

 

[Aalay]

Well that is a pretty bold selection to bring Kuldeep in. Clearly India were holding on to him very tightly and have decided to unleash him in the final test match. Australia did struggle to pick Lakshan Sandakan in Sri Lanka and that might be a reason to bring him in? I am not sure but it is pretty bold to throw a 22 year old in a series decider like this. Hopefully he can do well. Bhuvi is in because of the grass on the pitch but I still feel pitch is dry underneath.

We are playing 5 bowlers which means more pressure on batsmen. In the last 18 months or so, Ashwin has been amazing for us with the ball but he has been equally amazing with the bat as well when other batsmen have failed at the top of the order. However, in this series, he has been very poor with the bat which is a worry because his runs at the end can be very useful for India especially in this match where we do have 5 bowlers.

 

[Fenil]

Lets keep an eye on Kuldeep's action

Yeah its ridiculously easy for leggies to chuck. You're right.