"BCCI should clarify the reason.."- Twitter reacts to Virat Kohli opting out of England Tests

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has decided to skip the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons. The BCCI included him in the 16-man squad that was announced for the first two Tests.

Kohli has reportedly informed the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and the BCCI regarding his decision to withdraw from the first two Tests. With the first Test starting on January 25, Virat Kohli’s decision to skip the first two Tests was made public by the BCCI on Monday, January 22.

Virat Kohli earlier skipped the the first T20I against Afghanistan citing personal reasons. however, he came back to play the second and the third T20I. Kohli’s absence will be a big miss for team India against England. With the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane not a part of the team and Kohli now out of the games, the onus will be on the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and Rahul to deliver.

The BCCI has agreed to his request and has asked the fans to respect Kohli’s decision and respect his privacy. The BCCI has not yet named Kohli’s replacement for the first two Test matches. It will be interesting to see who is named as the replacement for Kohli for the first two Tests. The return of one among Pujara or Rahane now becomes a viable option.

Twitter Reacts To Virat Kohli Skipping First Two Tests Against England

The BCCI requested media and fans to respect Virat Kohli’s privacy and refrain from speculating on his personal reasons.

– Take care and come back soon, King Kohli…!!! pic.twitter.com/eKRLXySUlL

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 22, 2024

Comeback strong, Virat Kohli.

Wishing everything will be fine soon….!!!! pic.twitter.com/R9EzvClhV2

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 22, 2024

This is how Karma is supposed to work?

If Kohli fans make fun of someone, something bad happens to those fans or Kohli? This is Karma? https://t.co/8goRkjL3KG

— TUSHAR 🏏 (@mainlycricket) January 22, 2024

Setback for India as #Kohli withdraws from first 2 Tests v England pic.twitter.com/ZD427OI0I7

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 22, 2024

What a dramatic evening for cricket news. Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Travis Head & now Josh Brown. Every genre of news covered #AusvWI #IndvEng #BBL13

— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 22, 2024

Just stop trolling him because he didn’t attend pran pratishtha pooja. Please think a bit logically about why would he accept the invitation and ask for permission from bcci if he didn’t want to go. Looks like there seemed to have been a personal emergency.pic.twitter.com/6g1RwKSaoQ

— Tejashav. (@kohli_admirer1) January 22, 2024

Hoping all is fine with Kohli and his family – fourth time in the last few months he’s pulled out due to personal reasons. The first time he’s made himself available and missed games.

— Sarah Waris (@swaris16) January 22, 2024

Meanwhile, England arrived in Hyderabad for the first Test on January 21. Batter Harry Brook has withdrawn from the Test series citing personal reasons as well. England have named Dan Lawrence as his replacement.

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The tour starts with the first test in Hyderabad from January 25-29. Visakhapatnam hosts the second Test from February 2-6, followed by the third Test in Rajkot from February 15-19. Ranchi hosts the fourth Test in challenging conditions from February 23-27. The tour concludes with the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala from March 7-11.

Australia are currently leading the points table with a PCT point of 61.11. India are placed second followed by South Africa and New Zealand. England are placed eighth on the table. They endured a difficult World Cup edition and now will be tested in Indian conditions.

There have been already a lot of talks about what kind of conditions might be presented for the England team. Rohit Sharma after winning the second Test against South Africa spoke about how the pitch behaved in the second Test when 23 wickets fell on Day 1 in Cape Town.

He further said that cricketers should expect turning tracks when they come to India and there should not be any confusion about the same. Speaking about Virat Kohli, Kohli, has scored 1991 Test runs against England at an average of 42.36. He has scored five hundreds and nine fifties and England and also scored six ducks.

With Kohli set to miss the first two Tests, Shreyas Iyer can be asked to bat at four followed by KL Rahul at five, KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel at six and Ravindra Jadeja at seven followed by Ravichandran Ashwin and three pacers.

Also Read: Virat Kohli ditches Rohit Sharma and Team India; BCCI forced to remind people of Virat’s commitment for Cricket