Virat Kohli will play his 100th Test match at PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali behind closed doors as Punjab Cricket Association CEO Deepak Sharma confirmed no fans would be allowed in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka from March 4.
Remarkably, Kohli will play his 100th Test match under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, who is leading India in Test cricket for the first time. India meet Sri Lanka in the first of the two-game friendly series in Mohali, while the second friendly will be played at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“The first Test between India and Sri Lanka will be played behind closed doors with no spectators allowed,” Punjab Cricket Association CEO Deepak Sharma was quoted as saying by ANI news agency.
Kohli resigned as Test captain after India lost 2-1 to South Africa in their away series. Kohli had stepped down as Test captain after becoming India’s most successful captain of the Indian side in the game’s longest and oldest format.
Kohli captained the Indian team to 40 wins in 68 Test appearances. Kohli has the fourth best winning percentage after Steve Waugh, Don Bradman and Ricky Ponting. Under his leadership, Kohli contested the 2021 ICC World Test Championship finals.
Kohli’s greatest achievement as captain was guiding India to their first-ever Test series triumph in Australia. As a passionate test rider, failing to beat South Africa in a test series on this Tour would be among his biggest disappointments.
India’s test team for the Sri Lanka series: Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas, Hanuma Vihari, Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ashwin (depending on fitness), Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Shami, Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Sourabh Kumar.
