Former cricketer Nasser Hussain said that it will be a “big blow” for India and world cricket if Virat Kohli does not play in any of the last 3 Tests against England.
India are yet to name the squads for the remainder of their Test series and reports of Kohli missing at least 2 matches have been doing the rounds.
Earlier, Kohli pulled out of the first 2 Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, citing ‘personal reasons’, after which Rajat Patidar was roped in as his replacement.
‘Game needs to look after Kohli’
“Yeah, well, nothing’s confirmed at the moment. There’s speculation, whether it’s the next two Test matches, they’re going to announce their side in the next few hours. Whether it’s the next three Test matches, so nothing’s confirmed, but it will be a blow.
“It’ll be a blow for India. It’ll be a blow for the series. It’ll be a blow for world cricket. It’s going to be a special series. It already has been. The first two games have been fascinating,” Hussain was quoted as saying on Sky Sports.
Lauding Kohli as amongst the greats, Hussain said that Kohli deserves time away from the game having served his nation for more than one and a half decades.
“And make no mistake, Kohli is one of the greatest batters to ever play the game and any series and any side would miss someone of the stature of Kohli. But first things first, and the game needs to look after the likes of 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, just some time away from the game,” he stated.
‘Family has to come first’
Earlier, Hussain also spoke about the mouth-watering battle between Kohli and the evergreen James Anderson in the upcoming matches of the series. However, he also acknowledged that Kohli’s personal life is equally important as his cricket career.
Moreover, Hussain said that KL Rahul should return to the Indian team after he missed the second Test due to discomfort in his right quadriceps.
“We wish Kohli all the best. It means we don’t have the mouthwatering possibility of an Anderson-Kohli contest like we’ve seen over the years, so be it. But you know, Kohli and his family and his private life have 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 and again speculating, KL Rahul, who was injured for the last game and has played brilliantly in the last few months for India in all formats, will come back in, so he’ll add to their batting,” Hussain said.
India lost the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs, but draw level in the series with a thumping 106-run victory in Visakhapatnam.
The second Test is scheduled to start on February 15 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
