’’Kohli’s absence will be a blow for India’’, feels Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain reckons the hosts are definitely missing Kohli’s services in this series, but the player’s family commitments deserve priority and must be respected

Virat Kohli during the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia at The Oval last year. Pic/Getty Images

Amidst multiple reports of Virat Kohli’s absence to continue for India’s next two Tests against England, former captain Nasser Hussain said any team would miss a player of his status, but added that the game must look after the ace batsman.

Kohli had pulled out of the first two Tests three days before the start of the series at Hyderabad, citing personal reasons. But multiple reports have suggested that he may miss India’s next two Tests too and may not even be available for the last match at Dharamsala. The BCCI had also requested the media and fans on January 22 to respect Kohli’s privacy and refrain from speculating over the nature of the personal reasons leading to his absence.

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Nasser Hussain. Pic/AFP

‘It’s a special series’

“Nothing’s confirmed. It’s all speculation whether it’s the next two Test matches or three games. They [India] are going to announce their side in the next few days. But it will be a blow for India, the series and 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 Cricket.

The five-match series between India and England is tied at 1-1, with the next Test to be played in Rajkot on February 15.

Kohli v Anderson

Kohli’s absence means that his duel with James Anderson will not be seen. Anderson has dismissed Kohli a total of seven times, the most any bowler has dismissed the right-handed batsman. “But first things first, the game needs to look after the likes of 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 him all the best. If it means we don’t get the mouth-watering possibility of an Anderson versus Kohli contest that we’ve seen over the years, then so be it. But Kohli, and his family and his private life has to come first. It will be a blow for India, but, they have got a very good lot of young batters,” concluded Hussain.

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