India vs Eng Test series: Virat Kohli pulls out from first 2 Tests citing personal reason

New Delhi: Giving a major blow to his fans, India’s batting virtuoso Virat Kohli, on Monday, pulled out his name from the men in blue’s squad for the first two Test matches against England that are set to be played between 25 Jan to 9 Feb in Hyderabad & Vishakhapatnam.

Speaking about Kohli’s unexpected decision, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) later revealed that the cricketer withdrew his name from the Test matches after having a word about the same with the team’s management and skipper Rohit Sharma.

🚨 NEWS 🚨

Virat Kohli withdraws from first two Tests against England citing personal reasons.

Details 🔽 #TeamIndia | #INDvENGhttps://t.co/q1YfOczwWJ

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2024

Further in its statement, BCCI also urged the masses & media to respect Kohli’s privacy and abstain from spreading any kind of rumors regarding his personal decision.

It added that the board believes in the Indian team’s ability to challenge and rise past the Three Lions in the first two Tests despite Kohli’s absence while saying that the name of the star cricketer’s replacement will be announced real soon.

Virat Kohli during India’s practice session in Hyderabad

Meanwhile, the news of Virat’s withdrawal from the initial 2 matches of Ind vs Eng test series comes just a day after the 35- year-old was seen in the nets during the practice session of team India at Hyderabad ahead of the first Test Match which is set to be played in the same city.

Considering the cricket’s exceptional form & impressive record on Hyderabad’s track, it’s a no-brainer that his absence from the field in the first two Tests will be felt not just by the Rohit lead Indian team but also by the fans.

Virat Kohli’s heroics against South Africa

Even in India’s recently concluded away Test series against South Africa, Kohli excelled with the bat, scoring a total of 172 runs in 4  innings with a decent average of 43.00, and played a key role in India’s historic 6 wickets victory over the Proteas team in the second Test match at Cape Town.