Virat Kohli injury update: BCCI releases statement on Indian captain's shoulder injury

In what must surely be music to the ears of every Indian fan, BCCI confirmed that Indian Test captain Virat Kohli has “no serious concerns”. After a bad day in the office, India suffered further scare on day one of the third Test after Virat Kohli injured himself and had to be taken off the field but the worries of fans have been allayed by BCCI’s statement.

In a release, BCCI said: “The BCCI Medical team confirms that Indian Captain Mr. Virat Kohli is presently undergoing treatment to recuperate from a strain in his right shoulder. Relevant investigations have revealed that there are no serious concerns, which will hamper his speedy recovery from a strain in his right shoulder due to a fall while fielding on day 1 of the third Paytm Test against Australia in Ranchi. He will continue to receive treatment, which will assist him to participate in the rest of the match.”

The incident occurred in the post-lunch session off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. In trying to field the ball that was struck by Peter Handscomb, Kohli ran after the ball but in his attempt to haul the ball back in, he landed on his shoulder and jammed it. Although known for his resilience, the Indian Test captain was visibly struggling when physio Patrick Farhat came onto the field before escorting him off it.

Extra Cover: Virat Kohli suffers a grade 1 ligament tear, says doctors in Ranchi

Fielding coach R Sridhar admitted that he was taken off the field purely as a precaution and even praised Ajinkya Rahane, who led the side in Kohli’s absence. He said: “He was very sure of his plans and Ajinkya being Ajinkya, he was taking advice from (Ravichandran) Ashwin and Ishant Sharma who are the other seniors in the team. So it was quite democratic, I thought Ajinkya did a good job there.

“In Virat’s absence, he kept the energy levels going. He came out and positioned himself in the outfield, made sure he is communicating well with the bowler and he took inputs from the senior players.“

Earlier, Dr. Abhishek who treated the player spoke to India Today and said that he had a grade 1 ligament tear. But the fact that BCCI’s statement implies that he might still play a vital role in the third Test will be music to the ears of every Indian fan.