Virat Kohli’s availability for the final three Test matches against England was finally put to rest by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), which on Saturday, February 10, confirmed the roster for the remaining games. As was widely expected, Kohli declined to be included in the team for private reasons, and the BCCI said they respected his choice.
Consequently, in his more than twelve-year career in the longest format, this will be the first time the former captain of India will miss a full Test series. Remarkably, in June 2011, Kohli made his Test debut in Kingston against the West Indies.
Since his debut century against Australia in Adelaide in January 2012, the 35-year-old batsman has established himself as one of the greatest of the current era. With 29 hundreds and 30 fifties to his credit, Kohli has amassed 8848 runs at an average of 49.15 in the 113 games he has played in his career.
Notably, Kohli has demonstrated a dedication to playing the longest format and has frequently argued for the preservation of Test cricket. India had a golden period in the oldest format of cricket under his direction, winning 40 out of 68 games for a win rate of 58.82%.
In 2020–21, Virat Kohli missed three Test matches against Australia.
During the 2018–19 tour, he became the first Indian skipper to win a Test series in Australia. The Delhi-born hitter has only missed his preferred format twice, both times for private reasons. Prior to it, in 2020–21, Kohli was absent from the final three Test matches of the series against Australia due to his return home for the birth of his daughter Vamika.
And now, citing a family emergency, the famous cricket player has once again chosen to miss a series. The 35-year-old is reportedly no longer in India, and the specifics of his emergency are still unknown. The third Test match in the five-match series between India and England, which is now tied 1-1, will take place at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on February 15.
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