Kohli could be saving himself for IPL: Hodge

Hodge, the coach of IPL side Gujarat Lions, said it would be “pretty dirty” of Kohli if he turns out for the IPL opening match as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain against David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5. 

“You’d hope as a sportsman that he’s seriously injured. I’m hopeful, as a Gujarat Lions coach, that when we play RCB in a couple of weeks, that he’s not playing,” Hodge was quoted by ‘Daily Telegraph’ as having told Fox Sports News’ Gameday Live. 

“Because if you miss one game of Test match cricket and you’re fronting up the next week for RCB versus whoever, Bangalore, at Chinnaswamy Stadium -- you’d be pretty dirty if he did not front up to a Test match and try and win a valuable series against Australia which has been pretty spiteful as well,” said Hodge who played five Tests and 25 ODIs between 2005 and 2008. 

“You would think that your captain would get out there and get among the fight and get in there.” 

Hodge hoped the Indian skipper would not turn out to be like the many cricketers who have “limped” into the lucrative IPL. 

“He (Kohli) gets paid a helluva lot of money, he gets paid a helluva lot of money anyway, so it does not matter, but there are certain players that will limp in, to IPL time, to make sure they get there and perform well, because it is an important tournament for everyone around the world.” 

Meanwhile, former Test players Brendon Julian and Brad Haddin have also questioned Kohli carrying drinks at breaks on Day One of the fourth Test. 

“The one sight out there that was quite puzzling was Virat Kohli out there running with some drinks. This is the captain that said, ‘I can’t actually play because I have a shoulder injury’ out there running the drinks,” Julian said.