Cricket
Virat Kohli withdrew from India’s first two Tests against England citing personal reasons; media reporting his absence will extend into at least next two matches; follow England’s five-Test series in India across Sky Sports’ digital platforms with live blogs and reports
Thursday 8 February 2024 09:44, UK
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India batter Virat Kohli has emerged as a major doubt for the remainder of their Test series against England.
Kohli withdrew from the first two Tests, citing personal reasons, and several Indian media outlets are reporting his absence will extend into at least the next two matches in Rajkot and Ranchi this month.
While there has been no official confirmation about the speculation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Kohli could also be unavailable for next month’s fifth and final Test in Dharamshala.
With almost 9,000 Test runs and 29 centuries banked, Kohli, who averages 56.38 on home soil against England, has been a big miss in India’s middle-order in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
Shreyas Iyer has failed to pass 35 in his four innings but could be given a stay of execution if Kohli, the former India captain, continues to sit out.
It has also been reported India are giving serious consideration to resting Jasprit Bumrah when the series, currently level at 1-1, resumes in Rajkot next week, in a further boost to the tourists’ hopes.
Bumrah was in electrifying form in Vizag with a match haul of 9-91, helping him become the first India pace bowler to go top of the International Cricket Council’s Test bowling rankings.
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Despite a 10-day gap between the end of the second and start of the third Tests, India are said to be mindful of Bumrah’s workload after returning from back surgery last year.
The 30-year-old has bowled 57.5 overs in the series so far and could be kept fresh for the fourth and fifth Tests.
Ahead of naming their squad for the third Test later this week, India must decide whether all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and batter KL Rahul are ready to return from injury.
Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain on Kohli’s absence:
“It would be a blow for India, a blow for the series and a blow for world cricket. It’s going to be a special series, it already has been. The first two games have been fascinating.
“Make no mistake, Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters to ever play the game. Any series and any side would miss someone of the stature of Kohli.
“First things first, the game needs to look after the likes of Virat Kohli as well. He’s been playing international cricket for more than 15 years now.
“If he needs a break to be away with family and some time away from the game, we absolutely wish Virat Kohli all the best.
“It means we don’t have the mouth-watering possibility of an Anderson vs Kohli contest like we’ve seen over the years, but Kohli and his family and his private life have to come first. So it’s a blow for India, but, as we’ve seen, they’ve got a lot of very good young batters.
“KL Rahul, who was injured in the last game, but in the last few months has played brilliantly for India in all formats, I think he will come back in and add to their batting.”
Follow over-by-over text commentary from the third Test between India and England, in Rajkot, from Thursday February 15 live on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App (first ball at 4am).
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