No certainty over Virat Kohli's comeback; KL Rahul to be back for 3rd IND vs ENG Test - Reports

In what has been the latest development as per the reports in Cricbuzz, it is learned that there’s no certainty about Virat Kohli coming back for the third Test of the five-match series against England, slated to take place in Rakjkot from 15th February.

The reports stated that Virat Kohli is currently out of the country and there’s a big question mark over his presence for the third Test against England. The batter just a day ahead of the series pulled out of the first two games of the series due to personal reasons.

There were some media reports that claimed that Virat Kohli opted due to look after his mother, who is critically ill. However, the batter’s brother slammed all the reports and gave a befitting reply to the media outlets, saying that their mother was absolutely fine. This yet again put a question mark over why the batter pulled out.

In place of Virat Kohli, BCCI named Rajat Patidar as his replacement for the first two games. The batter is in line to make his debut for the team in the second Test match. The game will be played on Friday (2nd February) at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

The absence of Virat Kohli was very much evident in the first match. India suffered a disappointing 28-run loss in the first game at Hyderabad. They struggled to get going with the bat in the second innings and had the batter been there, the story might have been different. India failed to chase the target of 231 runs and went 1-0 down in the series.

India has a lot of experience in their batting lineup and also with Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer not in the best of forms, it isn’t helping them a lot. Going into the last match, they would be under pressure and would be eager to make a comeback in the series after a poor loss in the first match.

No certainty over Virat Kohli’s comeback; KL Rahul likely to be back for 3rd IND vs ENG Test – Reports

Apart from the development of Virat Kohli, reports in Cricbuzz also claimed that KL Rahul is expected to be back for the third Test against England. It is learned that the batter’s status doesn’t seem alarming and his injury isn’t that serious. Therefore there are high chances of him getting into the team for the Rajkot Test.

KL Rahul complained of pain in the right quadriceps after the first Test in Hyderabad. The batter underwent surgery for the same after the IPL 2023. The reports claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to not risk him taking precautionary measures, especially with the long series ahead.

KL Rahul will be heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and has been given a plan. With the third Test between India and England still far away, the batter might recover in time for the third Test. He no doubt will be crucial for the team going into the five-Test series against Three Lions.

KL Rahul played a blistering innings in the Hyderabad Test. He slammed 86 runs in the first innings and helped India post a big total and take a lead in the first innings. In the second innings, he looked decent with the bat and scored 22 runs before he was trapped in lbw by Joe Root.