Virat Kohli has pulled out of India’s first two Tests against England for personal reasons, the BCCI said on Monday.
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According to BCCI, Virat has spoken to Captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors and has emphasized that while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention,” the BCCI stated in a media release.
BCCI Media release also added “The BCCI respects his decision and the Board and team management has extended its support to the star batter and is confident in the abilities of the remaining squad members to step up and deliver commendable performances in the Test series. Also the BCCI requests the media and fans to respect Virat Kohli’s privacy during this time and refrain from speculating on the nature of his personal reasons. The focus should remain on supporting the Indian cricket team as they embark on the upcoming challenges in the Test series.”
Virat Kohli No.4 batter set to miss the first two Tests, India have the option of moving Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul up by a spot each and bringing in KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel which are already in the squad.
The BCCI is yet to name a replacement, but the frontrunners include cheteshwar Pujara, Rajat Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan.
Out of this Sarfaraz and Patidar both played and impressed for India A against the touring England Lions. Patidar blazed centuries in both the tour game against them and the first unofficial Test, while Sarfaraz scored half-centuries in both games, including 96 in the tour game. While Abhimanyu had replaced the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad as India’s reserve opener for the Tests in South Africa and is currently captaining India A.
India may go with experience of likes of cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane but with pujara age may be the issue and Ajinkya Rahane’s hopes to stage another comeback to Team India is fading away after his flop show for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2024. The right-handed has registered two consecutive golden ducks in recent times.