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Did Virat Kohli hide injury to play last IPL game?

Questions arise over India & RCB captain playing another IPL game after suffering neck injury during SRH match and jeopardising County stint

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Virat Kohli — BCCI
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Appears like the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has something to hide from public every time. This time, it is related to India skipper Virat Kohli suffering from a neck injury during the Indian Premier League game No. 51 – Royal Challengers Bangalore versus Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 17.

On Thursday, the press release issued by BCCI only talks about how the Indian skipper will have to miss the England county stint with Surrey “following assessments by the BCCI Medical team, subsequent scans, and a specialist visit”.

“The Team India captain will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team. He will begin training and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the NCA in Bengaluru from June 15. The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Mr Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England,” the statement said.

The big question here is that if Kohli suffered an injury on May 17, then how was he allowed to play in the last league game of Royal Challengers Bangalore against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on May 19 – a day after such a serious injury?

Going by the set protocol followed by each Team India player, forget captain, an injury has to be reported first to IPL team doctor or physio before bringing it to the notice of Team India medical team. BCCI insiders have told DNA that “someone has to answer from the Board medical team whether or not Kohli informed them of his injury in time”.

“If, indeed, Kohli informed the medical board, then why were all the required scans not done immediately. And how has he been given permission to play a match just a day after he suffered injury?” questioned a BCCI official.

“Injury is part and parcel of any cricketer. But the doubts arise when our own well-qualified doctors decide to have his fitness test on the second day of the historic Test against Afghanistan. Was it not proper to assess his fitness before such an important game?” asked the official.

It may be noted here that it was Kohli’s own decision to skip Afghan Test for the sake of getting acclimatised for challenging England series. That’s why the three wise men of Indian cricket (selectors) didn’t pick him in the squad and gave the responsibility of leadership to Ajinkya Rahane.

But Kohli is not just an ordinary player of Team India. Being leader of the national squad, Kohli is expected to lead Team India in all the important games, including against new-comers Afghanistan. “It was a different scenario when he chose to go for a county stint. But he cannot pick and choose matches in case he is available. That’s why his fitness test could well be planned before Afghan tie,” said the official.

Why exert for a video?

Another issue that has now been brought to the notice of BCCI top brass is when Kohli knew he had suffered neck injury on May 17 then “why did he post his video on social media doing the spider plank, an exercise which puts huge strain on the stomach and back muscles?”

Kohli posted the video in response to the challenge thrown by Sports minister and Athens Olympics silver medal winner, shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

“I’m being told that Kohli suffered ‘Category 1’ injury to his spine, which meant that he needed to be cautious and should not take the workload. Can anyone please explain what’s going on in his case?” asked the official.

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