Harbhajan Singh Bemoans Virat Kohli's Missing Presence in IND vs ENG Tests: 'Test Match Doesn't Feel Complete

Indian batsman Virat Kohli has extended his international break and will not play in the remaining three Tests against England. Virat is out of the series due to personal reasons. This will be the first time in 13 years that Virat will lose a Test series. Kohli also missed the first T20I against Afghanistan in January this year due to personal reasons.

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was reviewing India's squad for the last three Tests against England, praised Virat Kohli. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan said that he prays that everything goes well with Virat Kohli's family. He added that a Test match is not a match without Virat as he brings major flavor to the red-ball format. The legendary spinner claimed that Kohli is a brand that has advanced the format.

Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli's absence from the England Test
Harbhajan Singh said, “Virat Kohli is not available for selection yet. No one knows the reasons, I hope Virat, his family and all are fine. I hope he returns soon as the Test match seems incomplete without him. It is a brand in Test cricket that has taken Test cricket forward. Virat Kohli will miss the next three matches but we hope all goes well and he returns soon.

Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen of the modern era and is known for his dedication to playing the Test format. Virat has always mentioned that the red-ball format is his favorite format and has scored runs in all corners of the world while playing for the Indian Test team. Also, Virat Kohli transformed the Indian Test team during his captaincy days. India was number one in Tests for almost five years. Virat changed India's strategy of playing matches abroad and Indian pacers became the main reason behind India's success abroad.

Virat Kohli was part of the Test series against South Africa and played some brilliant innings in both the matches of the series. The last 1.5 years have been great for Virat as a batsman. Kohli finished as one of the highest run-scorers of the year, scoring 2048 runs in 35 matches with eight centuries at an average of 66.06. Kohli was also awarded the ICC ODI Player of the Year award for his outstanding performances in the 50-over format throughout the year.

Virat Kohli scored 1377 runs with seven hundreds in 27 matches, three of which came during the ODI World Cup 2023. Kohli was the highest run-scorer of the tournament and was also awarded the player of the tournament.

On the other hand, the Indian selectors dropped Shreyas Iyer from the team due to his poor performance in the first two matches. Akash Deep has received a call up while KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have also returned to the squad. The Indian team needs to overcome their middle-order problem as they have not been able to score runs to their full potential.