Indian batter Virat Kohli will miss the first two games of the India vs England, Test Series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has confirmed. Kohli has left the Indian camp, citing personal reasons, but is expected to be back in the team for the third Test match at the time of writing. (Cricket News)
Kohli had previously missed chunks of the Afghanistan home series and India's Tour of South Africa 2023-24 for personal reasons. BCCI, meanwhile, released a statement confirming the same.
"Mr. Virat Kohli has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be withdrawn from the first two Tests of the upcoming IDFC First Bank Test series against England, citing personal reasons," read the statement from Jay Shah, BCCI's Honorary Secretary.
"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.
ALSO READ: Rise Of Indian Women's Cricket
"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.
"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.
"The Men’s Selection Committee will name a replacement soon."
The India men's national cricket team will play England in a five-game Test series, starting January 25, 2024. The first Test will take place in Hyderabad, while the second, days later, will be played in Visakhapatnam. Rajkot will host the third Test from February 15, Ranchi the fourth from February 23. The series will conclude with a match in Dharamsala from March 5.
India vs England, Test Series, Squads:
India
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan.
England
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
