India Vs West Indies 3rd ODI: Virat Kohli Turns Substitute Fielder After Being Waterboy in 2nd ODI

Former India captain Virat Kohli and regular skipper Rohit Sharma were rested for the second and third ODI by the team management.

Former India captain Virat Kohli is known to be a complete team man. The batter, who is just 102 runs short of scoring 13,000 ODI runs, didn’t get to bat in the entire three-match ODI series against West Indies after not getting an opportunity in the first game and rested along with skipper Rohit Sharma for the second and third matches.

However, Kohli was present the entire time in the dug-out cheering on his teammates to a massive 200-run win in the third ODI and ensure Team India won the ODI series 2-1.

During the 18th over of West Indies chase of a massive 352 runs at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, Kohli was seen coming on to the field as a substitute fielder. This comes after Kohli turned into a waterboy along with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the second ODI – both of them were not part of the playing 11.

King Kohli in the field....!!! pic.twitter.com/7aMjWVPKBp

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 1, 2023

Stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya later revealed that it was important for the team management to rest Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the crucial third ODI to test the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Axar Patel. “Obviously Virat and Rohit are very integral parts of the team. But this was very important for players like Rutu or Axar to get a game. So giving youngsters the exposure and making sure that if we want to check something, we can check that,” Pandya said after the match.

Hardik Pandya thanked Kohli after the third ODI. The all-rounder smashed 70 off 52 balls with 5 sixes and 4 fours to lift Indian total to a massive 351 for 5 after being sent into bat by the West Indies captain Shai Hope.

“Virat Kohli gave me some advice and he helped me about my batting. He shared some advice to me. I'm thankful to Virat Kohli for this,” Pandya said about Kohli.

“I was just waiting to get the opportunity and once I got the rhythm I could get going. When I get one ball out of the middle, things become very different. I have seen that throughout my career,” Pandya said about his knock in the third ODI.