WTC final: [Watch] Virat Kohli bowls to KL Rahul in the intra-squad match

Virat Kohli is infamous for his bowling skills and the Indian captain's peculiar bowling action was visible once again on Saturday. The BCCI shared a clip of him bowling to Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul.

Team India is playing a high-intensity intra-squad match at Southampton in preparation for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. The BCCI hasn't divulged too many details about the teams and the scores of the game.

The BCCI's post on Saturday, however, revealed that Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are captaining the two sides. Virat Kohli can be seen flaunting a wide grin before committing to a short run-up to the crease.

The delivery was full and KL Rahul responded with a short stride forward. The BCCI left it to the viewers to guess the result of the ball, giving them three options - Straight drive, defense and LBW.

Here's the clip:

Captain vs Captain at the intra-squad match simulation.What do you reckon happened next?Straight-driveDefenseLBW#TeamIndia | @imVkohli | @klrahul11 pic.twitter.com/n6pBvMNySy

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 12, 2021

While New Zealand are currently playing a 2-Test series against England, these intra-squad games are the only match practice that Virat Kohli and his team will get before the WTC final, which starts on June 18.

The BCCI had earlier revealed wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and opener Shubman Gill's scores in this match. While Pant scored a 121 not out off 94 deliveries, Gill notched a 135-ball knock of 85 runs.

Will KL Rahul have a place in Virat Kohli's team for the WTC final?

It's Day 2 of the intra-squad match simulation. After @RealShubmanGill got a steady start with 85 off 135 deliveries, @RishabhPant17 found his groove with a 121* off 94 deliveries.@ImIshant leads the pack with 3/36 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/YRNsVjweDt

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 12, 2021

KL Rahul being the captain of one of the teams in the intra-squad match will raise questions about his chances of featuring in the WTC final. While this could have simply been done to pit India's first-choice eleven against the reserves, KL Rahul does have a knock of149 runs to his name in England.

In 2018, the Karnataka batsman continuously struggled against the swinging ball in the first 4 Tests before exploding in the dead-rubber final match. KL Rahul last played a Test match in August of 2019 against the West Indies.

With Pant, Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja being the most likely to form India's middle-order in the WTC final, KL Rahul's chances of starting are bleak. However, some impressive performances in these practice games could improve the odds of him getting the nod in the 5-match Test series against England.