Virat Kohli withdraws from first two England Tests

Virat Kohli has withdrawn from the first two Tests of the five-match series against England, starting Thursday (January 25), citing personal reasons. The Men’s Selection Committee will name a replacement soon.

“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 BCCI stated in a media release.

“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.”

Kohli, who amassed 765 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup, missed the white-ball leg of the South African tour in 2023 and the first T20I against Afghanistan at home recently.

India have only announced the squad for the first two Tests. The hosts have Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill to bat in the middle-order, while KL Rahul could also feature in the XI as a pure batter. 

Rahul played as a wicketkeeper in the two Tests in South Africa. India have KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel as wicketkeeping options.

The first Test will be played in Hyderabad (January 25-29), while the second one will be held in Visakhapatnam (February 2-6).