Watch: Hyderabad crowd goes berserk with Virat Kohli chants during 1st Test

Star Indian batter Virat Kohli might have opted his way out of the first 2 Tests in Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam due to undisclosed personal reasons.

However, his presence was felt on day 1 of the 1st Test against England at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium as Indian fans chanted his name on and on during England’s 1st innings with the bat.

The BCCI had taken to their official website and stated that “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,” BCCI stated.

👑 Hyderabad misses you, King. #ViratKohli #INDvENG #INDvsENG #TeamIndia #BharatArmy #COTI🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/TgFcbRrWjd

— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) January 25, 2024

In a video put out by the Bharat Army, fans can be seen shouting the name of Virat Kohli from the stands with sheer delight on their faces. It is great to see the amount of support the batting stalwart receives even in his absence and it goes without saying that fans are missing their favorite player.

His inclusion in the Indian squad was never going to be a question as he has been India’s most successful batter in the World Test Championship cycle since 2019. Virat Kohli has scored 2235 runs in 35 matches across the last 3 WTC cycles. He also captained the Indian team towards the 2021 WTC final, which was the tournament’s first final since inception in 2019.

India played very dominantly during the 2019-2021 cycle, finishing on top of the percentile table and faced the 2nd placed team New Zealand in the final. There were high expectations behind the team being able to clinch the inaugural edition of WTC in what also could have been India’s first major ICC silverware since 2013’s Champions trophy.

However, the Men in Blue under Virat Kohli tasted yet another loss and disappointment as New Zealand went on to become the first champions of WTC by ensuring an 8-wicket victory in Southampton.

Virat Kohli’s Replacement Rajat Patidar Doesn’t Find A Place As Shreyas Iyer Starts Ahead Of Him

A day after Virat Kohli was confirmed to miss the first two Tests, the BCCI named top-order batsman Rajat Patidar as his replacement. The 30-year-old was picked by the Indian management due to his extraordinary performance in India A’s unofficial Tests against England Lions at Ahmedabad.

Patidar played out 2 incredible knocks of 111 and 151 and it was enough for the management to give him a try even if they had options like Sai Sudharsan and Sarfaraz Khan. The latter in particular was initially backed to replace Kohli but as always he was overlooked with Patidar making the final cut for the Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam Tests.

However, even Patidar could not break into the starting XI as India stepped out to the field with Shubman Gill as number 3, KL Rahul as number 4, Shreyas Iyer as number 5 with Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat and Axar Patel as the following batters.

Though Virat Kohli is not a part of the team, India still looks formidable and their batting depth has increased owing to Axar Patel’s selection over Kuldeep Yadav. Meanwhile, the report from Hyderabad is that England have been bowled out for 246 and India have started the 2nd innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma getting off to a decent start.