Reason behind Virat Kohli’s absence from India-England Test series finally revealed by AB de Villiers

Virat Kohli decided to recuse himself from the first two Tests between India and England citing “personal reasons”, with little information on his whereabouts. Some reports have even suggested the star batter had flown out of the country, with no timeline on his return home and his participation in the marquee series.

According to South African batting legend and former captain AB de Villiers however, the “personal reason” behind Kohli’s absence from the England Tests is his wife, popular actor Anushka Sharma, expecting a second child.

“All I know is he is fine. He is spending a bit of time with his family, that is the reason he is missing the first two Test matches. I am not going to confirm anything else. I cannot wait to see him back. He is fine, he is doing well,” De Villiers said during a Q and A session on his YouTube channel.

De Villiers would then go on to read a text from the Kohlis in order to shed further light on the matter.

“Let me just see what he said. I just want to at least give you a little bit of love. So I wrote to him ‘Been wanting to check in with you for a while now biscuits. How are you?’. He said ‘Just need to be with my family right now. I am doing well’.

“Yes, his second child is on the way. Yes, it’s family time and things are important to him. If you are not true and genuine to yourself, you lose track of what you are here for. I think most people’s priority is family. You can’t judge Virat for that.”

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De Villiers is close friends with former India captain Kohli, having spent a number of years together at the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dressing room in the Indian Premier League. While Kohli has represented Bangalore throughout his IPL career, ABD had initially signed with the Delhi Capitals (known as Delhi Daredevils before 2019) before joining RCB.

Kohli had initially been named for the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam respectively, but pulled out last minute and was replaced by Rajat Patidar, who made his debut in the second Test.

Virat and Anushka had previously welcomed a daughter Vamika in January 2021. Kohli had skipped the remainder of the iconic 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy after leading the Indian team in the first Test in Adelaide.