"Test match seems incomplete without Virat Kohli " - Harbhajan Singh on batter missing IND vs ENG Tests

Indian batsman Virat Kohli has extended his international break and will be missing the rest three Tests against England. Virat has opted out of the series due to personal reasons. This will be the first time in the last 13 years that Virat will be missing a Test series. Kohli also didn’t play the first T20I against Afghanistan in January this year due to personal reasons.

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was reviewing India’s squad for the last three Tests against England, heaped praise on Virat Kohli. While speaking on his YouTube channel Harbhajan stated that he prays that everything is alright with Virat Kohli’s family. He added that without Virat, the Test match is not a match as he brings the main flavor to the red-ball format. Kohli is a brand that has moved the format forward, claimed the legendary spinner.

Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli missing England Tests

Harbhajan Singh said, “Virat Kohli is still unavailable for selection. Reasons no one knows, I hope Virat, his family, and everyone is ok. I hope he returns soon because the Test match seems incomplete without him. He is a brand in Test cricket which has taken Test cricket forward. Virat Kohli will not be seen in the next three matches but we hope everything goes well and he returns soon.”

Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen in the modern-day era and is known for his dedication to playing the Test format. Virat has always mentioned that the red-ball format is his favorite format and he has scored runs in all the corners of the world while playing for the Indian Test side.

Also, during his captaincy days, Virat Kohli transformed the Indian Test team. India were number one in Tests for almost five years. Virat changed India’s strategy to play matches overseas and the Indian pacers became the major reason behind India’s success in the foreign countries.

Virat Kohli was part of the Test series against South Africa and played some decent innings in both games of the series. The last 1.5 years have been brilliant for Virat as a batsman. Kohli ended up as one of the highest run-getters of the year and scored 2048 runs from 35 games with eight centuries at an average of 66.06. Kohli also was adjudged with the ICC ODI Player of the Year award for his brilliant performance in the 50-over format throughout the year.

Virat Kohli smashed 1377 runs from 27 games with seven hundred, out of which three came during the ODI World Cup 2023. Kohli was the highest run scorer of the tournament and was also adjudged with the Player of the Tournament award.

On the other hand, the Indian selectors have dropped Shreyas Iyer from the squad due to his poor performance in the first two games. Akash Deep has received a call up whereas KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have also returned to the team. The Indian team needs to address their middle-order problem as they have not been able to score runs to their full potential.