The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman has lauded the Indian talismanic batter, Virat Kohli, terming him a “great role model” and an exemplary professional.
“I think there is no doubt that Virat is an exemplary professional. And the standards he sets for himself are something which he tries and goes out every time he plays (for) whichever team to meet those standards,” Laxman said.
“And that’s why he is a great role model. And I think a lot of youngsters or players want to emulate him,” added Laxman.
On the other hand, Team India is all set to play against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series. The first match is scheduled to be played from August 15 in Galle. Ahead of the first match, Indian middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan has replaced the injured Sai Sudharsan. Sudharsan had sustained an injury, which ruled him out of the upcoming two-match Test series.
The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer has been undergoing rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru. The left-handed batsman also participated in the batting and fielding drills, but he is unlikely to make his appearance in the first Test match against Sri Lanka.
He also missed out on the ongoing three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, which is underway in Colombo. Indian ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has also been ruled out of the series as he has not yet fully recovered from the left knee injury that he sustained during the recently concluded ODI series against England.
Following his absence, the BCCI has announced Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi as his replacement in India’s squad.
India’s updated squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka: Shubman Gill (C), KL Rahul (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi.
