India A vs Australia A: Virat Kohli skips practice match, Ajinkya Rahane leads

Sydney, December 11: India decided to give rest to skipper Virat Kohli for the day-night warm-up game that got underway at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday (December 11).

Kohli had already hinted after the last T20I against Australia that he might skip the game if he feels the need to stay fresh for the opening Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 17.

Ajinkya Rahane came out for the toss and it will be a further boost to his confidence to lead the team which almost wears the look of the playing XI for the opening Test with Kohli set to walk in and a few tweaks here and there.

With Kohli returning back to India after the first Test, leading the team augurs well for Rahane as he will be in charge for the last 3 Test matches.

"You know, I can't play half and half. That's me. I can't just stand in slips and go through the motions. I need to wake up in the morning and see. If I feel great, I'll definitely play. If not, I'll speak to the physio and trainer and get a few days off and be fresh for the first Test," Kohli had said after the final T20I making it clear that he wasn't willing to commit.
Interestingly, former India skipper and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had earlier this week told ANI how it could have worked better for India if they didn't start with the pink-ball Test.

"See, whether or not you play the pink-ball Test as first match of the collection or the second or third or fourth, it might have been your first Test with the pink ball in Australia.

"It would have absolutely helped if the pink-ball Test was the third or fourth Test in this collection as a result of we're enjoying Test cricket after a very long time. So, if you find yourself enjoying Test cricket after a very long time you'd need acquainted situations and timings. In a day-night time Test, timings would be totally different, ideally regular Test match would have been good for the gamers," he had said.