Batting maestro Virat Kohli will continue to miss the England series as he made himself unavailable for the last three Tests due to personal reasons. Kohli last played for India in the T20I series against Afghanistan.
The former India skipper was initially picked in the squad for the first two Tests against England but three days prior to the Hyderabad opener he withdrew his name due to personal reasons.
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India missed Kohli’s experience in the middle-order against England in the first two matches and with the series currently tied at 1-1, the other batters had to stand up and fill in the big shoes in the last three Tests.
The BCCI added a note in their squad announcement for remaining Tests regarding Kohli’s absence.
“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision,” the BCCI stated in the release on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in their earlier statement before the Hyderabad Test, BCCI mentioned that Kohli spoke to skipper Rohit Sharma, team management and selectors informing his decision.
“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,” read a BCCI statement.
In the squad for the last three Tests, the national selection committee included senior players Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul but their inclusion will be subject to clearance by the BCCI’s medical team.
Jadeja had injured his hamstring while Rahul had a slight right quadricep niggle. The only new face in the 17-man squad is Bengal speedster Akash Deep, who has been rewarded for his consistent show in first-class cricket and in the recent India A vs England Lions Test series.
Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar has been released with Jadeja coming back while Mohammed Siraj is back in the squad after he was rested for the second Test.
India Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep.
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