Know reason behind Virat Kohli's absence from today's Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match between India and Bangladesh

Virat Kohli (Source-Twitter)

Virat Kohli has been rested for India's Super 4 match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023 at the R. Premadasa Stadium. At the toss, Rohit Sharma stated that he wanted to give players who had spent a lot of time on the bench a chance today.

This move by Sharma reflects a strategic decision by the team management to test their bench strength and provide valuable game time to those players who have been waiting in the wings. It also highlights India's depth of talent and their ability to field a competitive side even without their star player.

In 2023, Kohli has played regular cricket. He has batted three times in the present Asia Cup, scoring 4 (7), 122* (94), and 3 (12) against Pakistan twice and Sri Lanka once. The ace batter is critical to India's ODI World Cup chances and is frequently among the first players to be called up for dead rubbers.

India advanced to the final after defeating Sri Lanka by 41 runs, which resulted in Bangladesh being knocked out of the tournament. Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav have all been rested for India.

Who replaced Virat Kohli in the team?

Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav have been called up from the Indian bench today. Despite the fact that the latter is a specialist batter, Tilak will most likely replace Kohli at No. 3. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will continue to begin the innings, and the Men in Blue would not want to make too many changes in the middle order.

Tilak had a fantastic start to his international career, striking two half-centuries in a recent T20I series against the West Indies. His left-handedness and calm demeanour earned him a spot in the Asia Cup.

Suryakumar, the top-ranked T20I batter, has failed to adjust to the ODI format, hitting just over 500 runs at an average of 24.33 across 26 matches thus far. However, many believe the squad will remain with him because of his game-changing abilities and coolness under pressure in T20s. In Hardik Pandya's absence, he'll most likely bat in the lower order.