Virat Kohli reveals why he went off the field in the 4th T20I

Virat Kohli has said that fitness concerns forced him to leave the field during the fourth India vs England T20I on Thursday.

The Indian captain went off the field at the end of the 16th over and watched the nerve-wracking proceedings from the dugout. During the post-match presentation, Kohli said that he left the field to avoid aggravating any potential injury, saying in this regard:

“I ran for a ball; I dived and I threw it. So, I probably was not in the best position. But I just moved out to the outfield, and I was fielding in the inner ring, and the temperature drops really quickly. So your body tends to get stiff. So I just aggravated my upper chord a little bit. I didn’t want to make it into a niggle or an injury.”

Great captaincy from Virat ... !! Allowing @ImRo45 to get involved & clearly his tactics work ... #INDvENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 18, 2021

Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy reigns from Virat Kohli during the last four overs of the England innings. The hosts held their nerves to level the series 2-2, beating England by eight runs.

Virat Kohli’s absence during the last few overs raised doubts over his availability for the fifth T20I. But Kohli allayed all such concerns, saying that he should be fit to take the field for the series decider on Saturday.

“It is nothing serious. I should be fine by day after tomorrow because we have a game in the evening. So probably took a smart decision to come off and not sprint 5-6 times and do it up more because we have an important game coming up,” said Virat Kohli.

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Virat Kohli satisfied with India’s performance

M.O.O.D!😎😀An 8⃣-run win in the 4th @Paytm #INDvENG T20I & #TeamIndia level the series 2-2! 👏👏@Paytm #INDvENG Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/TYCBHIV89r pic.twitter.com/XGUimbNa6c

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 18, 2021

Reflecting on the positives from Thursday’s win, Virat Kohli praised Suryakumar Yadav for his 'Man of the Match' performance; the 30-year-old top-scored with a blistering 31-ball-57 in his first international outing with the bat.

“Special mention to Surya in his first game. I think he batted outstandingly well. Similar to Ishan; these guys are quite fearless having played world-class bowlers in the IPL. The idea was to give enough opportunity to them to score runs at the international level so that guys in our squad are confident,” observed Virat Kohli

The 32-year-old expressed satisfaction with how India’s younger players have performed against England.

With the upcoming game being the host’s last T20I assignment, the Indian captain wants his team members to make full use of the IPL to stay in shape before the T20 World Cup in October. Virat Kohli said in this regard:

“We don’t have any international T20s after this. Heading into the IPL, I want these guys to be more confident and come out of it very strongly because that World Cup becomes even more important for us.”

India came into the fourth T20I with their powerplay performances under scrutiny. But the hosts performed admirably in the first six overs in both innings. Virat Kohli made special mention of the same, saying in this regard:

“I think with the ball, we were quite clinical as well. Shardul turned the whole game around. But our powerplay start kept England in check and made sure they were under pressure.”

India will now look to wrap up the series when they take on England on Saturday as the India vs England T20I series approaches a thrilling finale.