Leading batsman Virat Kohli of India has decided to prolong his absence from the Test team, meaning he would be absent for the final three Test matches of the current five-match series against England. Notably, for unidentified personal reasons, Kohli had already withdrawn from the first two Test matches in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
Many stories claimed that Kohli’s mother was ill after he requested a leave of absence. Vikas Kohli, his brother, provided an update on his mother’s condition, putting an end to all the rumors. A player of Kohli’s caliber wouldn’t request time off without cause, according to BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who recently commented on the star’s protracted absence from the game he loves to play. He added, “The Board has complete faith in him.”
A person’s entitled to request a personal leave of absence if they haven’t had one in 15 years. It is not typical of Virat as a player to request a leave of absence without any explanation. Our athletes need our support and faith. Jay Shah was cited by India Today as adding, “We will talk about Virat later.”
An additional twist to the story came from the revelation made by Kohli’s close friend and former cricket player from South Africa, AB de Villiers, that the Bollywood actor and India star are expecting their second child together. De Villiers later regretted what he had said and apologized for misinforming people via his YouTube channel.
2021 saw Virat Kohli play just one Test match against Australia.
Notably, Kohli hasn’t missed a whole Test series since making his debut in 2011. Prior to the 2020 Border Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, he had previously declared that he would play in the first Test of the series and play the remaining three Tests at home.
Meanwhile, with the series tied 1-1, India started well on Day 1 of the third Test in Rajkot, scoring 326/5. Captain Rohit Sharma (131 off 196) and Ravindra Jadeja (110 off 212) starred with centuries, while debutant Sarfaraz Khan also scored 62 (66).
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