Team India is prepared for their second and last warm-up games for the 2023 ODI World Cup after their Saturday warm-up match against the defending champions England in Guwahati was postponed due to weather and called off before a ball was played. At the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, the Men in Blue will face the Netherlands, who qualified to their sixth World Cup participation after placing second behind Sri Lanka in the Qualifiers competition. Virat Kohli, India's former captain, could not be available for the game, though.
Cricbuzz said that Team India took a special aircraft on a four-hour flight on Sunday evening from Guwahati to Thiruvananthapuram, although Kohli was not among the party. The seasoned No. 3 hitter travelled from Guwahati back to Mumbai after asking the team management for a leave due to a personal issue.
Kohli will, however, be joining the Indian squad in Thiruvananthapuram later on Monday, according to the report.
The weather in Thiruvananthapuram suggests there won't be any cricket action during India's last warm-up game on Tuesday, despite the country's hopes. Tuesday is expected to be "cloudy with a few showers and a thunderstorm," according to Accuweather. There is a 96% chance of precipitation, and a 46% chance of a thunderstorm. Rain has already impacted three warm-up matches, two of which were played in Thiruvananthapuram. The South Africa-Afghanistan match was cancelled, while the Australia-Netherlands match was reduced to a 23-over match before being abandoned.
The fact that India's second warm-up game may have a similar outcome may not come as much of a surprise, but skipper Rohit Sharma is likely to be undisturbed because he described these matches as being only "formality" for Team India, who have been a busy team leading up to the World Cup. Prior to defeating Australia at home in a three-match series last week, India won the Asia Cup a fortnight earlier.
On October 8 in Chennai, India will play their first World Cup match against Australia.
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