India star batter Virat Kohli missed the first two Tests against England and is likely to miss the next couple of matches to stay with his family if media reports are to be believed but the official announcement is yet to be done by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
India missed the services of Kohli in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam as batters fumbled against England in the final innings of the series opener and lost the match by 28 runs.
Kohli's absence in the third and fourth Tests in Rajkot and Ranchi respectively will be a hard pill to swallow for Rohit Sharma-led side. His participation in the fifth and final Test of the series in Dharamsala is still doubtful as BCCI is expected to name the squad this week.
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Former India captain joined the team in Hyderabad ahead of the first Test but returned home on the same day after having a conversation with Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid. BCCI in its statement announced that Kohli withdrew from the first two Tests of the series due to personal reasons and urged media and fans to 'respect Virat Kohli's privacy during this time and refrain from speculating on the nature of his personal reasons'.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Kohli's absence is a big blow for world cricket due to his stature but also added that the game needs to look after him as 15 years of international cricket takes a lot of toll on your body - both physically and mentally.
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"Yeah, well nothing's confirmed at the moment. It's all speculation whether it's the next 2 Test matches or three… they're going to announce their side in the next few hours. Nothing's confirmed but it will be a blow for India, the series and for world cricket. It's going to be a special series – it already has been. The first two games have been fascinating, and make no mistake. Virat Kohli is one of the greatest to ever play the game and any series and any side would miss someone of the stature of Kohli," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
"First thing's first. The game needs to look after Virat Kohli as well. He's been playing international cricket for more than 15 years now and if he needs a break to be away with family… get some time away from the game, we absolutely wish Virat Kohli all the best. It means we don't get the mouth-watering possibility of an Anderson vs Kohli contest that we've seen over the years, then be it. But Kohli, and his family and his private life has to come first," he added.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul's return for the third Test will be a big boost for India in Kohli's absence. Rahul missed the second Test in Vizag due to a right quadriceps pain. Hussain feels that Rahul's return will power India's batting for the remainder of the series.
"It's a blow for India but as we've seen, they've got a lot of very good young batters and KL Rahul I think, who was injured for the last game and played brilliantly in the last few months, will come back in and will add to their batting," he said.
The third Test between India and England will be played in Rajkot from February 15.