RANCHI: Skipper Virat Kohli was on Thursday cleared by the Indian board’s medical team to participate in the ongoing third Test against Australia after injuring himself on the opening day in Ranchi.

Kohli hurt his right shoulder while fielding and went off in the afternoon session, leaving vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side for the rest of the day.

While India’s fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar had said Kohli would undergo scans, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) later confirmed there were no “serious concerns”.

“The BCCI Medical Team confirms that Indian captain Mr Virat Kohli is presently undergoing treatment to recuperate from a strain in his right shoulder,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“He will continue to receive treatment, which will assist him to participate in the rest of the match,” the statement added.

Kohli fell awkwardly while trying to cut off a boundary at long-on and instantly walked away, clutching his shoulder in the 40th over. He was seen putting on ice packs in the dressing room.

“It was quite an intense chase to the boundary line. In his intent to save that one run, he stopped the ball but landed on his right shoulder when he rolled over,” Sridhar told reporters after the day’s play.

“The impact was quite heavy because of the momentum he was carrying and there was a shock on his right shoulder.

“I thought Ajinkya did a good job filling in for Virat...He kept taking advice from Ishant (Sharma) and (Ravichan­dran) Ashwin who are the seniors of the team,” said Sridhar.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2017