India batsman Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the final three tests of their five-match home series against England due to personal concerns, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Saturday.
Kohli pulled out of the first two tests for personal reasons. The Indian cricket board issued a statement expressing its full respect and support for the player’s decision.
The 35-year-old former captain, who has nearly 9,000 runs in 113 tests, will miss a full home series for the first time in his career.
England won the first test by 28 runs in Hyderabad, but the hosts tied the series at 1-1 with a 106-run triumph in Visakhapatnam this week.
The third test will begin in Rajkot on Thursday, followed by matches in Ranchi and Dharamsala.
The injured batter KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second match, were recalled to the BCCI’s 17-man team for the final three tests. They will only play if they have received fitness clearance from the medical team.
Middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer was left out owing to reports of a back problem, and selectors resisted the temptation to rest in-form speed bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who missed time last year due to injury.
Mohammed Siraj was also included in the team despite missing the previous game, and fellow seamer Akash Deep received his first test call-up.
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
