Virat Kohli to miss remainder of India-England Test series

Kohli initially sat out the first two matches at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, but it was left open-ended at the time as to whether he would return in Rajkot and beyond

Nick Friend | 10/02/2024 at 09:21

India star Virat Kohli will miss the remainder of the five-Test series against England for personal reasons.

Kohli initially sat out the first two matches at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, but it was left open-ended at the time as to whether he would return in Rajkot and beyond.

But the BCCI have now confirmed that he will miss the entirety of the series.

"Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons," the BCCI announced in a statement. "The board fully respects and supports Mr Kohli's decision."

In 113 Tests, Kohli has scored 8,848 runs, the fourth-most by an Indian behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (the current head coach) and Sunil Gavaskar. It means the series will miss out on one of the game's great batters and competitors, as well as one of the Test arena's enduring battles between Kohli and James Anderson.

Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, however, both return to the hosts' squad, pending "fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team".

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^{England will be wary of the returning Ravindra Jadeja (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

But Shreyas Iyer, the middle-order batter, is absent from the 17-man squad, having been left out.

Akash Deep, who took 13 wickets in three unofficial Tests for India A against England Lions, is the latest seamer to earn a call-up to India's squad. He joins Mukesh Kumar and the returning Mohammed Siraj as part of the support cast to Jasprit Bumrah.

There had been reports that the exceptional Bumrah might be rested in Rajkot, but he is very much included, as is reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel and uncapped batter Sarfaraz Khan. Washington Sundar is also among the 17.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah, 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, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep

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