India won’t have Virat Kohli, their past skipper and experienced slugger, in their second Test game against England. The match is at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s ACA-VDCA cricket ground in Visakhapatnam. Kohli, age 35, was first picked for the Indian team for the initial two Tests. He withdrew from the games because of personal matters. He’s replaced by Rajat Patidar, a hitter from Madhya Pradesh.
Without Kohli, India fell to England. They lost by 28 runs in the opening Test of the five-part series, held in Hyderabad. For the first part of the Test, India held the upper hand, even amassing a substantial first-innings lead of 190. But soon, England fought back. Ollie Pope, scoring 196, and beginner left-arm spinner, Tom Hartley, who nabbed 7/62, led the English to a stellar comeback.
Regarding Kohli’s absence, the star cricketer’s brother, Vikas, recently turned to social media to dispel concerns regarding their mother’s health. According to certain speculations, Kohli took a sabbatical since his mother Saroj was unwell. In his Instagram story, he clarified:
“I have noticed that there is this fake news about our mom’s health been circulating around. Let me clear that our mom is absolutely fit and fine. Also I would request everyone and also the media, not to spread such news without proper information. Thanks everyone for your concern.”
Vikas Kohli
It remains to be seen if Kohli would rejoin the Indian Test squad for the next three matches of the present series against England.
Former England cricketers reckon India missed Virat Kohli in Hyderabad
Former England captain Michael Vaughan and former left-arm spinner Monty Panesar felt India lacked Kohli’s energy in Hyderabad, where the visitors staged a dramatic comeback in the Test match.
“They miss Virat Kohli’s captaincy massively in Test cricket. Under Virat’s captaincy that week, India wouldn’t have lost the game. Rohit is a legend and a great player. But I felt he just switched off completely,” Vaughan was quoted as saying on the Club Prairie Fire show.
“Virat Kohli has that presence and intensity, which is missing currently in the India team. Virat Kohli has that aura and presence. If England win the next Test match then India will be in big trouble. This is a big moment for Rohit Sharma, he needs to show that he can turn around the match without Virat Kohli,” Panesar told news agency ANI.
Virat Kohli has played 113 Tests and scored 8,848 runs at an average of 49.16, with 29 hundreds and 30 fifties.