India vs England: BCCI announces Virat Kohli's replacement for first 2 Test matches

BCCI have named Rajat Patidar as Virat Kohli's replacement for the first two matches of the upcoming Test series. The RCB star has been given a chance in the India XI ahead of the likes of Cheteshwara Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Patidar was the unanimous choice of the selection committee, meaning that the selectors didn't want to give Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwara Pujara any more chances, while Sarfaraz Khan, who has been a star performer in the domestic circuit in the recent past, will have to wait for his first call up to the Indian side.

BCCI had announced on Monday that Virat Kohli has decided to withdraw from the first two Tests of the five-match series owing to ‘personal reasons’. 

In a statement about the star batter's unavailability, BCCI said, "Virat Kohli has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be withdrawn from the first two Tests of the upcoming Test series against England, citing personal reasons," BCCI said in an official statement.

"The BCCI requests the media and fans to respect Virat Kohli's privacy during this time and refrain from speculating on the nature of his personal reasons. The focus should remain on supporting the Indian cricket team as they embark on the upcoming challenges in the Test series," the top cricketing body added.

India and England squads: 

England Test squad: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (Wk), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.

India test squad (for first 2 matches): 

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar