Virat Kohli to miss third India vs England Test? Report says batter is out of country

Virat Kohli is reportedly out of India currently and there’s a question mark over his participation in the remaining Tests of the home series against England. Kohli pulled out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons and without revealing much more BCCI urged the fans to respect the former India captain’s privacy. “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 Virat Kohli has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be withdrawn from the first two Tests of the upcoming IDFC First Bank Test series against England, citing personal reasons,” BCCI said in its press release on 22 January. “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 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.” While it was not mentioned in BCCI’s release, Kohli was expected to be back from the third Test. However, Cricbuzz has reported that Kohli is currently out of India and there’s no clarity on when he will be back. It has to be noticed that there’s a long gap between second Test, which started on Friday, and the third Test. the Vishakhapatnam Test is scheduled to end on 6 February, while the Rajkot Test only starts on 15 February. The report also added that Ravindra Jadeja’s hamstring injury, which ruled him out of second Test, is much worse than initially thought. He can also miss third Test and is in race to be fit in time for the fourth Test which begins on 23 February in Ranchi. The news agency PTI has reported that Jadeja could miss the whole series along with pacer Mohammed Shami who is recovering from an ankle injury that he suffered during the ODI World Cup 2023 at home.