Virat Kohli pulls out of opening two Tests against England in blow to India

22.01.2024 - 11:49 thenationalnews.com

India's plans for the upcoming Test series against England have been disrupted after star batter Virat Kohli withdrew from the squad due to personal reasons.

Kohli is India’s middle-order linchpin but has pulled out of the five-match series opener in Hyderabad, starting on Thursday, as well as the second Test in Visakhapatnam, beginning on February 2.

The 35-year-oldboasts nearly 9,000 Test runs and 29 centuries, leaving a major hole in the India XI. He has also excelled on home soil against England, averaging 56.38 in 13 Tests.

India have named just six specialist batters in their squad, as well as wicketkeepers KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel, with a replacement for Kohli set to be announced.

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The Indian cricket team's defeat to England in the opening Test of the 5-match series in Hyderabad has triggered the Indian cricketing spectrum, with questions being raised on skipper Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and their leadership. Soon after India lost the series opener in Hyderabad, Virat Kohli started to trend on social media, with fans recalling the former skipper's brilliant stats and the team's dominance under his captaincy. Amid the debate, an old video of Kohli has resurfaced, where he summed up the mindset he and the Indian team approach Test matches with.

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Ahead of the first Test match between India and England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, fans started to arrive at the stadium. While speaking to ANI before the game, a fan said that he would miss the former India skipper Virat Kohli. However, he is excited for the skipper, Rohit Sharma. "We really miss (Virat) Kohli because Telugu fans have a huge fan base for Kohli. We miss him playing in Hyderabad... But I am really excited to see Captain Rohit Sharma," a fan said.

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Madhya Pradesh's prolific batter Rajat Patidar was on Thursday named as a replacement for India's batting mainstay Virat Kohli for the first two Tests against England. "Rajat Patidar has joined the team as Virat Kohli's replacement for the first two Tests against England," the BCCI said in the announcement. Kohli had decided to make himself unavailable for the first two Tests of the five-match series due to "personal reasons".

"Hope This Phase Passes...": Harsha Bhogle On Virat Kohli Opting Out Of Two England Tests

Indian cricket team star batter Virat Kohli opted out of the first two Tests in the upcoming five-match series against England starting January 25 citing 'personal reasons'. While no official reason was provided by the cricketer or the BCCI, there have been a lot of speculation on social media and among cricket fans. Even the BCCI urged the media and fans in its official statement to not speculate about the reason behind Kohli's absence and to respect his privacy. Renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle took to social media to express his views about Kohli's sudden withdrawal from the two matches and he pointed out that if a passionate cricketer like Kohli decided to opt out of Tests, the reason must be "deeply compelling".

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