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Speculation over the “personal reason” behind Virat Kohli’s absence from the first two Test matches against England ended on Saturday after close friend and former South Africa captain AB de Villiers revealed that the India star and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their second child. The revelation soon raised doubts over whether Kohli would return for the remaining three Test matches against Ben Stokes’ men. Reports later in the evening indicated that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is scheduled to speak to the former India captain about his plans at the earliest.
On January 22, three days before the start of the opening Test match against England, Kohli withdrew from the matches in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. The BCCI later issued a statement saying that Kohli spoke to India captain Rohit Sharma and the team management, where he emphasized that “while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and all your attention”.
Speaking in a question and answer session on his YouTube channel during India’s second Test against England in Vizag, De Villiers, responding to a question from a fan, revealed that the personal reason why Kohli opted out of the England series is the imminent arrival of his second child.
“Yes, his second child is on the way. It’s family time and things are important to him. If you’re not honest and genuine with yourself, you lose track of what you’re here for. I think most people’s priority is people is family. “I can’t judge Virat for that. Yes, we miss him. But he made the absolutely right decision,” De Villiers stated.
With the second Test nearing its end, where India took a healthy lead of 171 runs after defeating England for 253, the BCCI top brass is eager to know Kohli’s intentions to be part of the rest of the series with the selectors scheduled to announce the roster for the final three games soon.
According to a PTI report, selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar or some of the senior board officials will talk to Kohli, who is currently out of the country, to get a clear idea and find out if he is fit to stop. resume national duty.
“Family comes first as stated in the BCCI press release and Virat will only play if he feels he is fit to play,” a BCCI source with knowledge of the situation told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The third Test match will begin on February 15 in Rajkot.