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Former England captain Kevin Pietersen reacted after India stalwart Virat Kohli decided to withdraw from the first two Tests against his nation due to personal reasons. Kohli will miss the Hyderabad and the Visakhapatnam Tests of the five-match series. BCCI said Kohli informed captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selection committee before taking the leave.
The board also said that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will name Kohli’s replacement soon. However, that is unlikely to happen before the series opener as al the frontrunners would be in action for the four-day match between India A and England Lions almost at the same time.
Pietersen said when a player of Kohli’s statute requests for leave due to personal reasons, there should not be any discussions whatsoever on it.
“If a sportsman pulls out for personal reasons, RESPECT IT! End of!” Pietersen wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“The BCCI respects his decision and the Board and team management has extended its support to the star batter and is confident in the abilities of the remaining squad members to step up and deliver commendable performances in the Test series.”
The statement added: “The BCCI requests the media and fans to respect Virat Kohli’s privacy during this time and refrain from speculating on the nature of his personal reasons.”
Kohli, who amassed 765 runs in 11 ODI World Cup matches for runners-up India last year, missed the white-ball leg of the South African tour in 2023 and the opening T20 match against Afghanistan at home recently.
The 35-year-old remains the backbone of the Indian batting with 8,848 runs including 29 centuries and an average of over 49 in 113 Tests.
India named their squad for the first two Tests and pace bowler Mohammed Shami missed out as he recovers from an ankle injury.
The second Test starts February 2 in Visakhapatnam, followed by the third beginning February 15 in Rajkot.
India has remained unbeaten in a Test series at home since 2012 when Alastair Cook’s touring England team beat them 2-1.
Ben Stokes’ England have landed in Hyderabad after holding a training camp in Abu Dhabi.
England’s Harry Brook on Sunday pulled out of the series due to “personal reasons” with Dan Lawrence, who played the last of his 11 Tests in 2022, named as the replacement.
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