At the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Saturday, India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match versus Bangladesh included just one player who did not play: Virat Kohli. Having only landed in the city late on Friday night, Kohli was well-rested following a 16-hour flight from Mumbai.
Even though Kohli was absent from the game, there was one specific moment that fans on social media were talking about. While watching the game in New York, when India won both departments, the former captain of India was spotted nonchalantly admiring his six-pack abs. As soon as the video got popular on social media, a person on X, formerly known as Twitter, exclaimed, “Stop, it’s already 40 degrees.”
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was apparently on vacation at an undisclosed international location, and captain Virat Kohli were among the prominent absentees on May 26, the day after the Indian players were supposed to depart for New York following the 2024 Indian Premier League. A story published in Indian Express last week stated that, with permission from the BCCI, Kohli has prolonged his leave following the 2024 Indian Premier League season, in which Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered a devastating elimination in the Eliminator.
As a result, Kohli was unable to attend the three practice sessions India conducted in New York before to their match against Bangladesh. He was merely added to the team on Friday, and he showed up at the stadium for the pregame warm-up.
Even though he was not there for the game, Kohli is coming into the World Cup off the back of an incredible IPL season in which he crushed 741 runs in 15 innings to win the Orange Cap.
India scored 182 for five in 20 overs on Saturday because to the forceful hitting of Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya. Hardik smashed a forty off 23 balls, while Pant scored 53 off 32. Suryakumar Yadav too had a respectable performance, hitting four sixes in his 31 in 18. After that, the bowlers put on a masterful display, with Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube particularly noteworthy with two wickets apiece as Bangladesh was limited to 122 for nine in 20 overs.
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