Picture Credit: X
India is all set to host England in a five-match Test series, starting January 25th in Hyderabad. Just days ahead of the first Test, the Rohit Sharma-led Team India were handed a major blow as former skipper and star batter Virat Kohli pulled out of the first two Tests.
Also Read: England legend Michael Atherton gives BOLD prediction for upcoming five-match Test series
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cited personal reasons for Virat Kohli’s withdrawal, fans were quick to begin their speculations on the same. Seeing this, former England captain Kevin Pietersen took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam these speculators on this move. “If a sportsman pulls out for personal reasons, RESPECT IT! End of!”, Pietersen wrote in his post.
However, a replacement for Virat Kohli will be shortly announced ahead of the opening Test in Hyderabad, the rest of the Indian squad is already in Hyderabad. Kohli, who recently played the two-match Test series against South Africa and scored 172 runs in four innings, missed the opening T20I against Afghanistan due to “personal reasons”.
Speaking of his numbers in Tests, the stalwart has played 113 Tests, scoring 8,848 runs making him India’s fourth highest run-scorer in the longest format of the game. He is currently behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs).
India’s updated squad for first two Tests against England:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Avesh Khan.
