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Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has issued an apology for spreading misinformation on his YouTube channel over Virat Kohli's absence from the ongoing five-Test series against England. De Villiers said that Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their second child. Later, he had to remove that part from his YouTube channel.
"Family comes first and then Cricket. I had made a big mistake on my YouTube channel. That information was wrong and not true at all," Kohli’s former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate told Dainik Bhaskar.
De Villiers said that he does not know where Kohli is at the moment. He backed the former Indian captain for choosing family over national duty.
“Virat has every right to take a break during national duty. Family comes first and cricket second... He (Kohli) is out due to family emergency. Nobody knows where they are at the moment. All the fans of Virat in the world should wish him the best. Whatever be the reason for his break, hopefully he will return to the team strongly,” the 39-year-old added.
Kohli had pulled out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in its media release had said that Kohli spoke to captain Rohit Sharma and the team management before withdrawing from the first two Tests.
Kohli’s extended absence
While BCCI is yet to announce India’s squad for the remainder of the Test series, Kohli is unlikely to play in the next two Tests as per reports. The board is yet to provide clarity on Kohli’s absence.
The third Test is scheduled to start on February 15 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.
How Kohli’s replacement fared
In Kohli’s absence, Rajat Patidar was named in the Test squad. Patidar made his Test debut in Visakhapatnam and registered scores of 32 and 9. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill’s centuries, and Jasprit Bumrah’s fiery bowling helped India beat England by 106 runs and level the series 1-1.
Will Jadeja, Rahul return?
Meanwhile, there is a question mark over whether Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul will be fit for the third Test. They are currently at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru undergoing rehabilitation.
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