Virat Kohli urges debutant Kamboj to back his abilities ahead of West Indies ODI

Virat Kohli handed fast bowler Anshul Kamboj his debut ODI cap ahead of India’s third match against the West Indies in New Chandigarh. Kohli urged the young pacer to believe in his abilities and backed him ahead of his debut

New Chandigarh: Talismanic batter Virat Kohli handed fast bowler Anshul Kamboj his debut ODI cap ahead of the third match against the West Indies at the New PCA Stadium here on Saturday and advised the young pacer to believe in his abilities.

Kamboj, who has already represented India in Test cricket, having played the Manchester Test against England last year, has become the 266th player to represent the country in the 50-over format.

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“Anshul, big congratulations to you, Cap 266. We know you already played Test cricket for India. The reason is that, because of your consistency and clarity of thought, you got the opportunity to represent India in the whites, which is the greatest honour. But very few people get to become multi-format players,” said Kohli while presenting the cap in the team huddle, in a video posted on the BCCI’s social media accounts on Saturday.

Kamboj joined the Indian team on Friday after being pulled out of India A’s second four-day game against Australia A in Puducherry, as fast bowler Prasidh Krishna was ruled out due to a left hamstring injury sustained in the second ODI in Guwahati.

“So another proud moment for you and your family. I just mentioned you have the skill sets; we’ve all seen that in the IPL with white-ball cricket, the clarity with which you bowl and the areas that you bowl make it very difficult for batsmen to go after you. So believe in yourself in the same way; we’ll all back you, and congratulations and a very proud moment for you,” added Kohli.

Karnal-based Kamboj, who made a strong impression in domestic cricket for Haryana and the IPL before breaking into the national setup, expressed delight at earning his ODI debut.

“Obviously, it’s a dream of a player to play for his national team. So I’m feeling quite good, and I’m just looking to make sure that I play a good level of cricket,” he said.