Mumbai, Jan 23:
India’s star batter Virat Kohli will not be available for the first two Tests against England. Virat Kohli has requested to be withdrawn from the squad for the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons, the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) confirmed in their statement.
The selection committee will name a replacement in due course for Kohli.
Ther elease further stated that Kohli spoke to captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors before making his decision.
“He emphasised that while representing the country has always been his toppriority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undividedattention,” the statement said.
The BCCI respects his decision and the Board and team management hase xtended its support to the star batter and is confident in theabilities of the remaining squad members to step up and deliverc ommendable performances in the Test series.
The BCCI also requested the media and fans for privacy on the matter and to refrain from speculation.
Kohli recently featured for India in the Test series against South Africa, which they came from behind to draw 1-1. Following the series, he was absent for the first T20I against Afghanistan at home due to personal reasons but returned for the remaining two games.
The five-match series between the two teams begins on January 25 inH yderabad before the action moves to Visakhapatnam for the second game. Kohli was initially named in the squad announced for the first two gameson January 12.
The seriesis a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 where India currently sits second on the table behind leaders Australia
BCCI is yet to name the squad for the remaining three Tests.
Squad for first two Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill,Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul, K.S. Bharat, Dhruv Jurel,Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Avesh Khan.
