Leading batsman Virat Kohli's return to the Indian team for the remainder of the Test series against England still remains unclear even as the bigwigs are considering having a word with the former captain about his plans at the earliest. Kohli is currently out of the country and it is believed that the selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar or the BCCI top brass will speak to him to get a clearer picture and find out if he is capable of completing his national duty to resume.
Kohli had taken a sabbatical from the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons.
“Family comes first as stated in the BCCI press release and Virat will play only if he feels he is capable of playing,” a BCCI source privy to the matters told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The personal reason why Kohli has opted out of the Tests is the impending arrival of his second child, as revealed by his close friend and former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers said Kohli definitely did the right thing by taking a break.
“Yes, his second child is on the way. It's family time and things are important to him. If you are not true and true to yourself, you will lose sight of why you are here.
I think most people's priority is family. You can't judge Virat on that. Yes, we miss him. But he absolutely made the right decision,” said De Villiers.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, who have been fighting for big runs, will have to step up in the second innings of the ongoing Test against England in Visakhapatnam as KL Rahul could get fit in time for the third Test starting on February 14 in Rajkot.
The squad for the remaining three Tests against England will be named next week after the conclusion of the second Test.
Shreyas, Gill informed if Rahul returns?
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, who have been battling for big runs in the red-ball format, will have to buckle up and score some runs when their turn comes to bat in India's second innings at Vizag.
If they don't, KL Rahul could walk in for one of them in the third Test. Rahul missed the second Test with a quadriceps injury but rumor has it that the man from Bengaluru could be in for the next match in Rajkot from February 15.
Both Iyer and Gill have not scored a single fifty in their last nine Test innings and time is running out for both with the red-hot Sarfaraz Khan in the dugout and Rahul's quadriceps problem getting better every day.
Cloud over Shami, Jadeja
However, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja could not feature in the Test series against England.
Shami was not eligible for the series while Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury during the first Test in Hyderabad and he was ruled out of the ongoing second Test.
“At this stage there is little or no chance that Mohammed Shami (who is in Britain for ankle treatment) and Ravindra Jadeja will be fit for the remainder of the series.
In Rahul's case, he is getting better and a gap of a week between the second and third Tests will also help him get match-ready,” the source said.
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