Indian captain Virat Kohli is in doubt for the early stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after conceding that his shoulder injury is still a few weeks away from complete recovery.
Kohli skipped the fourth and final Test of the series against Australia, which India won 2-1 owing to the injury. It has now jeopardised his participation in the early part of IPL beginning April 5.
Kohli’s team Royal Challengers Bangalore face defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL opener.
“It’s still a few weeks to go before I can be 100 percent on the field,” Kohli said in the post match press conference of the fourth Test when asked about his fitness.
“But these things happen in your career. Got to take it in my strike and move forward,” he said.
Kohli had hurt his shoulder while fielding during the third Test in Ranchi, forcing him to miss his first five-day game in 54 matches.
For RCB, Kohli has missed only one game and that was way back in the inaugural edition in 2008.
The star batsman had an unusually quiet series against Australia, scoring just 46 runs in five innings.