India vs South Africa 2021-22, Cape Town Test: Virat Kohli declares himself fit, Mohammed Siraj ruled out

After two intense Test matches, India and South Africa will face off in the final Test, to be played at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town from Tuesday. The stage is set for a thrilling decider with Freedom Series 2021-22 locked at 1-1. While skipper Virat Kohli has declared himself fit to return, pacer Mohammed Siraj will be missing out.

Kohli had suffered upper back spasms, forcing him to miss out on the second Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg last week. While KL Rahul stepped in for him, India lost the Test, which happened to be its first loss at the venue. Meanwhile, Kohli is said to have fully recovered and was evident from his lunged-forward drives during the practice session at the nets.

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As for Siraj, Kohli announced that the pacer had suffered a hamstring injury at Wanderers, while he is not fit to take the field at Newlands. “Siraj is obviously recovering from the niggle he had in the last game, and at present, I don’t think he is match-ready to take the field in the third Test. You cannot obviously risk a guy who is not at 110 per cent as a fast bowler,” he said during the pre-match press conference on Monday.

However, Kohli’s batting has been highly inconsistent of late, while he has been without an international century in over two years. While his form has been talked about a lot, he said he is not bothered with what critics had to say. Instead, he assured that his focus is on getting things right and sticking to the basics.

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“This is not the first time people have talked about my form. It has happened a few times in my career. England in 2014 was one of those phases. I do not look at myself from the lens the outside world looks at me with. The standards have been set by me myself, they are not an occurrence from the outside world, and more than anyone else, I take a lot of pride in doing the best for the team and wanting to perform for the team regularly,” Kohli replied, reports ANI.