England head coach Brendon McCullum is ready for the challenge Virat Kohli will pose if he returns to India's Test squad for the remaining three Tests of the series. Rohit Sharma-led India levelled the five-match series 1-1 with a win in Visakhapatnam on February 5. While India won by a comfortable margin because of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill's centuries the batting lineup has not looked at his best.
Kohli withdrew for the first two Tests of the series citing personal reasons. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a media release that he had a conversation with skipper Rohit before the squad was announced. After India’s 28-run loss in Hyderabad, two star players KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out of the second Test.
"Virat's one of the greatest players of the game has seen. No doubt it improves this squad. As we have said throughout, the depth in Indian cricket, the talent in India is immense. So we respect every opposition player that we come up against," McCullum told TalkSport.
"If Virat is coming back... we hope everything is well with his family. We will look forward to that challenge too. He is a great competitor. I know him very well and I enjoyed playing against him, I enjoyed our team playing against him. And if you have success against the best, I am sure you have earned it," he added.
Meanwhile, Rohit was seen having a lengthy conversation with chief selector Ajit Agarkar after India's 106-run win. The squad is likely to be announced on February 7.
Ben Stokes-led England few back to Dubai as the third Test in Rajkot will start on February 15. The England squad had previously prepared for the Test series in Dubai only.
If Kohli and Rahul make a comeback, Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer may warm the benches. Patidar looked in control but had a couple of unlucky dismissals. On the other hand, Iyer failed to capitalise on starts. He has not scored a half-century in red-ball cricket since December 2022.
If Kohli returns for the third Test, he will need nine more runs to become the third Indian after Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar to score 2,000 runs against England.
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