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The Rohit Sharma-led side is missing the services of their star batter Virat Kohli in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. Kohli had pulled out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons after a discussion with the skipper and the team management. He continues to remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the Test series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) showed their support for Kohli when the team was announced. Now, Kohli has come out in support of the former Indian captain as well saying that he has every right to ask for personal leave.
“Koi aadmi 15 saal ke cricketing career mein, koi ek mauke pe personal leave mangey toh uska right hai. Virat aisa player toh hai nahi ki koi bina kaaran leave mangega. Humko humare player ko back karna chahiye, trust karna chahiye (If somebody is asking for a personal leave in 15 years, then it is his right to ask for it. Virat is not the kind of player who would ask for leave without any reason. We must back and trust our players),” Shah told the reporters on the sidelines of an event in Rajkot.
Will Kohli play in T20 World Cup?
Shah was also asked whether Kohli will play in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies. “Abhi aap Virat par kaha aa rahe ho. Baat karenge uska bhi (We will talk about that later),” the 35-year-old replied.
Kohli made a comeback in T20Is in the home series against Afghanistan. Playing in his first T20I series since India’s exit from T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Kohli registered scores of 29 and 0 in the second and third T20I respectively.
The T20I series against Afghanistan was also India’s last in the lead-up to T20 World Cup. The selectors will heavily rely on players’ form in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to select the team for the big event.
Kohli's astonishing T20 World Cup numbers
Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the history of T20 World Cups. He has scored 1,141 runs from 25 innings at an average of 81.5 including 14 half-centuries. He has scored runs at a strike rate of 131.3.
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