"Private life come first", Nasser Hussain on reports of Kohli missing next tests vs ENG

Virat Kohli (Pic: File Pic)

India's star batsman Virat Kohli missed the first two test matches against England for personal reasons. According to reports, he is likely to skip the next two matches. On this, former English skipper Nasser Hussain backed him saying that "private life comes first."

According to ESPNcricinfo, Virat Kohli who was absent from the first two Tests against England will miss the third and fourth Test matches against England in Rajkot and Ranchi.

Hussain hailed Kohli for the contributions he made to his team over the years and felt that any team would miss the presence of a batter who has a stature like the 3-year-old.

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"Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters ever to play the game and any series and any side will miss someone of the stature of Kohli. The game needs to look after the likes of Kohli as well. He has been playing international cricket for more than 15 years now and if he needs a break to be away with family just some time away from the game we wish Virat Kohli all the best. It means we don't have the mouthwatering possibility of an Anderson-Kohli contest that we have seen over the years so be it," Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports.

If Kohli misses the next two clashes, then Team India needs to find a player who can fill in his shoes. Rajat Patidar was named as the replacement for Kohli, but he failed to make an impact in the previous game.

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja also missed the second test match due to injuries. According to Nasser Hussain, if KL is fit and can regain fitness in the third test, he would be a player to contribute to India's batting depth.

"Kohli and his family and his private life have to come first, so it's a blow for India, but as we've seen, they've got a lot of very good young batters. But KL Rahul, who was injured for the last game, played brilliantly in the last few months for India and in all formats. I think he'll come back in, so he'll add to their batting," Nasser Hussain added.

The hosts also have an option to play Sarfaraz Khan who has been in stupendous form in domestic cricket.

India will play their third Test of the five-match series against England in Rajkot on February 15.

(With ANI Inputs)