IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli withdraws from first two Tests amid personal reasons

• Virat Kohli withdraws from the first two Tests.
• The replacement will be announced soon.
• Personal issues previously led to a missed T20I match last year.

For personal reasons, Virat Kohli has withdrawn from India’s opening two Test matches against England, the BCCI announced on Monday. A replacement for Kohli will be announced shortly.

“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 board said in a statement.

While in Hyderabad on Sunday for the first of five Test matches, Kohli did not show up for India’s optional training session on Monday.

After playing in India’s final Test match of the series, a 1-1 tie against Afghanistan at home, Kohli missed the first Twenty20 International due to personal issues but returned for the next two games of the series.

Kohli had returned to India and missed the three-day intra-squad match that preceded the two Test matches there, but he was rested for the white-ball matches in South Africa.

Although the BCCI has not yet announced a replacement, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rajat Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Sarfaraz Khan appear to be the front-runners.

After playing for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final the previous year, Pujara began this year’s Ranji Trophy against Jharkhand with an undefeated double-century. In his next two games, he scored three runs in the 40s and a half-century.

Against the touring England Lions, Patidar and Sarfaraz both played and made an impression for India A. In the first unofficial Test as well as the tour match against them, Patidar scorched hundreds, and Sarfaraz finished with half-centuries in both, including 96 in the tour match.

Currently captaining India A, Abhimanyu took over as reserve opener for India during the Tests in South Africa after Ruturaj Gaikwad was hurt.

The other middle-order batsmen in India’s lineup are Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill. KL Rahul is also ready to bat as a pure batsman if necessary; he, KS Bharat, and Dhruv Jurel are the competitors for the wicketkeeper position.

Following Harry Brook’s decision to withdraw from the entire tour on Sunday due to personal reasons, Kohli became the second player in as many days to choose to sit out a portion or all of the series. It is agreed upon, nevertheless, that he may re-join the England touring group at a later time.

As part of the WTC, the five-match series versus England will get underway in Hyderabad on January 25. India is presently ranked second in the WTC standings, one spot behind Australia, the reigning champions.

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