Former Australia batsman Brad Hodge says India have every reason to feel "pretty dirty" if injured captain Virat Kohli plays the Indian Premier League (IPL) season opener on April 5.
Kohli ruled himself out of the Test series decider against Australia because of the shoulder injury he suffered during the third Test.
It is unclear if the superstar batsman will be fit to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) next month, when the lucrative IPL season starts.
But there is speculation the right-hander, who endured a terrible form slump in recent weeks, will take part in the Twenty20 tournament.
Kohli insisted he could bat without issue during a pre-match press conference in Dharamsala but risked aggravating the strain in the field.
Hodge, who will serve as coach of Gujarat during the T20 event, all but questioned the reason behind the firebrand's decision to sit out the final Test of an engaging series.
"You would think that your captain would get out there and get amongst the fight and get in there," Hodge said.
"You'd hope as a sportsman that he's seriously injured.
"Because if you miss one game of Test match cricket and you're fronting up the next week for RCB versus whoever ... you'd be pretty dirty if he didn't front up to a Test match and try and win a valuable series against Australia.
"I'm hopeful, as Gujarat Lions coach that when we play RCB in a couple of weeks, that he's not playing."
When pressed on whether Kohli could be ensuring he is fit and firing for the IPL, Hodge was forthright.
"It's happened before," Hodge said.
"Not just Virat but there's many players that have come up to IPL time and... look, we know it's a cash-rich tournament, there's some money up for grabs.
"There are certain players that will limp in, to IPL time, to make sure they get there and perform well."
Kohli finished the Test series against the Aussies with just 46 runs from five innings at an average of 9.20.
Prior to his struggles in the past six weeks, Kohli's lowest average in a Test series was 13.4 against England in 2014.
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