Former England captain-turned-cricket commentator Nasser Hussain stated that reports of Virat Kohli's unavailability for next two Tests in Rajkot and Ranchi against England is not just big blow for Team India but also for world cricket.
Kohli had to withdraw from India squad for initial two Tests in Hyderabad and Vizag against visiting England Test side due to personal reasons. As revealed by former South African batter and Virat Kohli's RCB teammate, former Team India captain and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their second child soon.
As per the recent reports, Virat Kohli is expected to extend his break from cricket and is likely to miss third and fourth Test of the series against England. However, Team India's talismanic batter availability for the final Test in Dharamshala remains doubtful.
Blow for World Cricket: Nasser Hussain
Speaking on Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain is of the opinion Virat Kohli's unavailability for the next two games is a big blow for the series. He added that the game needs to look after former India captain if he wishes to stay away from the sport to be with his family.
"It will be a blow for India, blow for the series, blow for world cricket. It’s gonna be a special series, already the first two games have been fascinating. Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters to ever play the game and any series and any side would miss someone of that stature."
"First things first, the game needs to look after the likes of Virat Kohli as well. He has been playing international cricket for more than 15 years now, and if he needs a break to be away with family, just some time away from the game, absolutely we wish Virat Kohli all the best." he added.
Over the last few months, Virat Kohli took a break from cricket in order to be with his family. He withdrew from the first T20I of the 3-match series against Afghanistan last month, citing personal reasons.
Kohli joined the India camp in Hyderabad before travelling to Ayodhya for Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha. Two days before the first Test against England, BCCI released a statement about Kohli's availability for two Tests and urged everyone to avoid speculating his personal reason.
Private life has to come first: Nasser Hussain
Former England skipper has backed Virat Kohli to prioritized his personal life, adding that India underrated by Kohli's absence as they have good batters in the team. He also said that KL Rahul's return for the remaining Tests of the series will strengthen hosts' batting.
"Kohli and his family and his private life has to come first, so it’s a blow for India, but as we’ve seen, they’ve got a lot of very good young batters." Nasser Hussain said.
"But KL Rahul, who was injured for the last game, played brilliantly in the last few months for India and in all formats. I think he’ll come back in, so he’ll add to their batting.”
KL Rahul was ruled out of the second Test due to injury and is expected to make his return to action for remaining three matches in Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamshala. Meanwhile, India leveled the five-match series 1-1 against England by winning the second Test in Vizag.
