By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
India’s Virat Kohli will miss the remaining three Tests in the ongoing five-match series against England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Saturday.
The 35-year-old ex-captain previously withdrew from the first two Tests.
“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons,” the BCCI announced in a statement.
“The board fully respects and supports Kohli’s decision.”
When missing the the first two Tests, the board had said “certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention”.
Kohli, who has played 113 Tests for India, is fourth on their list of all-time leading run-scorers with 8,848.
The series is level at 1-1 with three games to play, starting with the third Test in Rajkot on Thursday, 15 February.
Kohli, who led the side in 68 Tests between 2014 and 2022, had not missed a Test for India for more than two years, last doing so when he was ruled out of a match against South Africa in Johannesburg with a back spasm in January 2022.
India won the second Test by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam on Monday to level the series.
Batter Shreyas Iyer, who played in the first two Tests, also did not feature in the 17-man squad named for the remainder of the series.
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja and batter KL Rahul returned to the squad but will only play “subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team”, the board added.