Star India batter Virat Kohli's absence from the cricket field has led to a lot of speculative theories and rumours online. For context, the former India captain has pulled out of the first Two Test matches against England citing "personal reasons." This is not the first time that Kohli has opted for a break for the same reason in recent times. The 35-year-old missed the first of the three T20Is against Afghanistan and even returned home from their tour of South Africa due to a family emergency.
Although the exact reason remains private, a post on X (formerly Twitter) went viral online suggesting that the reason behind Kohli missing out from the matches is his mother Saroj's health. The post claimed that the cricketer's mother suffered a liver issue last year. While she recovered from that with Kohli also prioritising the World Cup at that time, the post claimed that her condition has worsened in recent times which has led to Kohli being there for her.
However, Virat's elder brother Vikas Kohli has debunked the claim in a recent Instagram story. Vikas clearly said that their mother is fit and fine, requesting the media not to report such news without much information. He also thanked the fans and well-wishes for their concern.
Here is Vikas Kohli's Instagram story:
No Clarity On Virat Kohli's Return
Meanwhile, there is no clarity on Kohli's return to cricketing action. While he had opted out only of the first Two Test matches against England, a BCCI official while speaking to TOI has claimed that they are yet to hear from him regarding his return. A Virat Kohli-less India were beaten by England by 28 runs in Hyderabad. Furthermore, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have sustained injuries which have ruled them out of the second Test. It would be interesting to see the combination with which the team goes into the Visakhapatnam Test beginning on February 2.