BCCI Yet To Hear From Virat Kohli Regarding His Return: Report

IND vs ENG: A Virat Kohli-less India were handed a 28-run defeat by England in the first of the five-match Test series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Virat Kohli pulled out of the first two Test matches of the home series against England citing personal reasons.

Source : Getty

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not heard anything from star India batter Virat Kohli regarding his return. Notably, Kohli had opted out of the first two Test matches against England citing personal reasons. Although it was being anticipated that Kohli would rejoin the squad for the third Test match, seems like there is no update from Kohli yet on that regard. Kohli-less India lost to England by 28 in the first of the five-Test series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

"We haven’t heard anything from him (Virat Kohli) on his return as yet," a BCCI official told TOI.

To add to India's woes, India have also lost the services of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja for the second Test which puts the hosts in a spot of bother. While Jadeja sustained a hamstring injury on Day 4 of the first Test, Rahul complained of quadriceps pain ruling them both out of the second Test beginning in Visakhapatnam on February 2 (Friday).

Maiden India Call-Up For Sarfaraz Khan

Injuries to Rahul and Jadeja meant that the BCCI announced injury replacements for the second Test match. Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan finally found a place in the Indian Test squad after years of consistent performances in the domestic setup. Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar were the other players added to India's squad.

Sundar's addition in the India squad meant, Saransh Jain found a place for himself in the India A squad for the third and the final unofficial Test against England Lions which will begin on February 1 in Ahmedabad. Even though Indian speedster Avesh Khan is part of the Indian test squad, he will continue to be with Madhya Pradesh Ranji Team and will join the India squad only if required.

India's updated Squad for 2nd Test vs England: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (Wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (Vice-Captain), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar.