Virat Kohli battles rain, keeps going in the nets at Perth stadium

Virat Kohli at Team India`s practice session on Tuesday (Pic: @bcci/X)

Former India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday refused to leave the nets, even as India's first practice session at the Optus Stadium in Perth was disrupted by rain.

His determination to continue batting, even as the session came to a halt, underscored his commitment to getting into the best possible shape ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener on Friday.

Kohli, who has been working hard since arriving in Australia, has had a somewhat lean run in recent months, leading to speculation about his place in the format. However, his resolve was clear in the nets, where he looked solid, showing signs of regaining his touch ahead of the crucial series.

Despite the disruption caused by rain, Kohli continued to bat even as the rest of the squad left the field. His focus was unwavering, and he was only forced to stop once the rain intensified.

India have been practicing at the WACA, Perth's old Test venue, since last Wednesday. They also played a three-day intra-squad match against India A at the venue, which proved to be a mixed bag for the team.

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During the match, key batters KL Rahul and Shubman Gill sustained injuries. While Gill's injury ruled him out of the opening Test in Perth, leaving India without both their captain, Rohit Sharma, and Gill, Rahul made a swift recovery. He returned to the nets just two days later and appeared to be in good form during Tuesday's practice session at Optus Stadium, where he had an extended batting session.

Tuesday's training session also provided a strong indication of India's likely batting order for the series opener. With Gill sidelined, Devdutt Padikkal, the only player retained from the India A squad, is set to replace him. Padikkal, who made his debut in the Dharamsala Test against England earlier this year, scored a half-century at No. 4 but had a mixed outing in the series against Australia A, with scores of 36, 88, 26, and 1 in four innings.

KL Rahul is expected to open the batting alongside debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal. Kohli, as anticipated, will bat at No. 4, with Rishabh Pant following at No. 5. These players were also seen fielding in the slip cordon during India's fielding drills on Tuesday, further suggesting that the team management is aligning the batting order ahead of the series.