With just two days left for the first of five home Tests against England, India received an unexpected blow when star batsman Virat Kohli pulled out of the first two games citing personal reasons.

“Virat Kohli has requested the BCCI to be withdrawn from the first two Tests of the upcoming Test series against England, citing personal reasons,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

The first Test begins in Hyderabad on Thursday and the board said it will announce a replacement soon.

In the release, BCCI said that the former captain has informed the captain, team management and selectors about his decision, which will necessitate some contingent planning ahead of the first Test.

“Virat has spoken to Captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors and has emphasised that while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention,” read the statement.

“The BCCI respects his decision and the Board and team management have extended their support to the star batter and are confident in the abilities of the remaining squad members to step up and deliver commendable performances in the Test series.

“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 Men’s Selection Committee will name a replacement soon.”

Wicketkeepers KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel have been classified as the spare batsmen in the 16-man squad, but it’s likely that the selectors will have to look at someone from outside the group if they want a like-for-like replacement for Kohli.

With spin-friendly pitches expected for the Tests against England, playing with just five specialist batsmen may be considered a risk. There’s already uncertainty about who will don the wicketkeeping gloves – KL Rahul or KS Bharat.

Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are slated to open the innings with Shubman Gill coming at No.3. Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are the designated middle-order batsmen, and it remains to be seen if one of them slots into Kohli’s No.4 position or if someone is parachuted there.

Previous instances

This is not the first time Kohli has taken a break from international cricket. One of those instances was during the tour of Australia in 2020-21. India had been bowled out for 36 in their second innings to lose the first Test. Kohli, who was the captain then, had announced beforehand that he will leave the tour after that game to be with his wife who was expecting. In his absence, Ajinkya Rahane led a turnaround in Indian fortunes and engineered a memorable 2-1 series triumph.

The other noteworthy instance was when Kohli took a break in 2022 to tend to his mental health, after a poor run of form by his standards and being relieved of the India captaincy in all formats. During this period, the star batsman said he didn’t touch his bat for a month “for the first time in 10 years.”

“I came to realise that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently,” he said. “I was convincing myself that ‘no, you had the intensity.’”

Kohli returned rejuvenated from the break and became prolific with the bat again.

The options

If a fresh face is needed, recent form could point towards Madhya Pradesh’s Rajat Patidar. He has already made his white-ball debut for India and is coming off a 151 for India A in the game against England Lions. Just before that, Patidar had hit 111 in a two-day warm-up fixture against the same opponents. The 30-year-old has domestic pedigree and played a key role in his state team winning the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy, where he hit a hundred in the final against Mumbai.

Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan’s name is never far from the reckoning during selection meetings. His proficiency against pace and bounce is a question mark, but his ability against spin could be useful in the middle order on turning tracks.

Veteran Cheteshwar Pujara continues to churn out runs in first-class cricket and could be an option if the selectors eye someone tried and trusted.