India captain Virat Kohli's further participation in the crucial third cricket Test against Australia was on Thursday seemed to be in jeopardy due to a shoulder injury, the extent of which wasn’t known initially.
However, Indian cricket team heaved a sigh of relief when the medical reports confirmed that there were no "serious concerns" with regards to captain Virat Kohli's shoulder injury and the treatment will assist him in participating in the rest of the third Test. Kohli could not field after landing awkwardly on his right shoulder while trying to save a boundary in the post-lunch session.
BCCI issued a statement, making it clear that Kohli is getting treatment for a mere strain and there was nothing to worry. "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," BCCI said in a statement.
"He will continue to receive treatment, which will assist him to participate in the rest of the match," the statement added.
India's fielding coach R Sridhar had said Kohli was taken off the field as a precautionary measure. "There was a shock on his right shoulder, that's the current status. But the exact status of the injury will be known by tomorrow morning after we get the scan reports. We took precaution today to make sure that the injury does not aggravate," Sridhar said.
However, in case Kohli fails to take the field early tomorrow, he will have to come lower down the order than his usual number four spot when India bat. Asked whether Virat would be able to bat, Sridhar said: "We will answer that when we get the correct status. let's cross the bridge when it comes."
Such was the impact that he had difficulty in standing up and was seen grimacing in pain, clutching his right shoulder to be rushed out of the field immediately.
Sridhar said the ground was hard and sloping in nature. "It was fast sloping and hard as well. It had all the ingredients of a fast outfield."
A gentle flick off the pad from opener Matt Renshaw took the ball easily past the boundary as Australia scored their first runs in four in the first over of Ishant Sharma.
"We saw in the first boundary of the day when Renshaw got past Ashwin. He was trying to catch up but the ball beat him to the boundary line quite easily. That sums up the outfield situation. There are some slopes in the outfield and the ball runs hard. We can't really do much about it. We have to chase the ball. You have to try and dive and cut the ball if you're anywhere close to it."
‘RAHANE DID A GOOD JOB’
On the role played by stand-in-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Sridhar said he couldn’t have done much on a "placid" pitch but he did well to keep energy on the ground by communicating well with the players. Rahane took charge after Kohli had to walk off the field due to a shoulder injury in the 40th over of Australian first innings. "Ajinkya did a very good job. He was very sure of his plans. Ajinkya being Ajinkya, he was taking advice from the seniors, Aswhin and Ishant. In Virat's absence, he kept the energy well. He positioned himself in the outfield and made sure he communicated well with the bowlers," Sridhar said.