India star Virat Kohli to miss third and fourth Tests against England

India have been dealt a major blow in their Test series against England, with Virat Kohli expected to miss the upcoming third and fourth matches.

Kohli, India’s former captain, had looked set to be one of the stars of the series but was forced to pull out of the opening two Tests for personal reasons.

While the BCCI did not expand on the exact reasons behind Kohli’s absence at the time, South African great AB de Villiers appeared to confirm that the batter and his wife Anushka Sharma were expecting their second child earlier this week.

Rajat Patidar was subsequently called up in place of Kohli and made India’s XI for the second Test in Vizag, scoring 32 and 9 across his two innings, as the hosts bounced back from defeat in Hyderabad to level the series with a 106-run victory.