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Virat Kohli and Harry Brook will be two major absentees from the upcoming Test series between India and England. Both batters have withdrawn their names from the squad due to personal reasons. The former India skipper will not be available for the first two Tests of the series, while Brook will miss the entirety of England's tour of India.
The cricketing boards have released a statement regarding the absence of the players as well, but the actual reason behind the players' sudden departures is yet to be known.
“Virat Kohli has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be withdrawn from the first two Tests of the upcoming IDFC First Bank Test series against England, citing personal reasons,” BCCI said in an official statement.
"Harry Brook is set to return home with immediate effect for personal reasons from the England Men's Test tour of India. The Brook family respectfully requests privacy during this time. In light of this, the ECB and the family kindly request the media and the public to respect their wish for privacy and refrain from intruding on their private space," the ECB said in a statement.
On that note, let us take a look at who among Virat Kohli and Harry Brook will be a big miss for their respective teams in the upcoming Test series.
#1 Form
Virat Kohli was recently involved in the two-match Test series against South Africa. He was arguably one of the better batters on show, despite the run column not showing much. The ace batter showcased his ability while playing on testing pitches and top scoring across two innings over the course of the tour.
While he did not have the best of the T20I series against Afghanistan at home, it hardly needs to be considered, given the difference between the two formats. Kohli's last Test outing in India, which came during the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, resulted in him scoring a mammoth hundred. His form in red-ball cricket has been good as he recorded a ton during the West Indies series as well.
Harry Brook displaced Ben Foakes from the playing XI during the Ashes, and justified his position with several impactful knocks. His form showed the England management that he can definitely be in the playing XI alongside Jonny Bairstow. The 2023 Ashes remain his last red-ball international appearance.
He also made it to the England squad for the World Cup after being initially snubbed. Much like the team, he also had a mediocre campaign on the subcontinent. He began the tour of Caribbean with a promising fifty, but followed it up with five single-digit scores from his next seven outings.
#2 Roles within the team
Virat Kohli was poised to be the backbone of the team yet again, and had a huge role to play against the England spinners and the old ball. With the rest of the middle order struggling for runs on a consistent basis, Kohli had to stand tall around the relatively inexperienced members.
In Kohli's absence, although India get to play both Iyer and Rahul with a specialist wicketkeeper, it comes at a huge price. Now with Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and one of KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel comprising the middle order, there is a severe lack of experience, and the aforementioned batters are also not in the best of forms as well.
Harry Brook has been a pivotal cog in the entire Bazball setup, scoring his runs at a strike rate of 91.76. The right-handed batter's displays against spin bowling would have been put to the test in subcontinent conditions, where he does not have good memories so far. He was far from his best in India across the other two formats in the past.
How would Brook have fared with his aggressive batting style against accomplished spinners on rank turners is a question that remains unanswered for the time being. Although one thing is for sure, England's squad presented a big threat with Harry Brook in it, which shows his value to the team.
#3 How will India and England replace them
Team India are yet to name a replacement for Virat Kohli, with the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar and other names being reportedly considered. As things stand, India are likely to include Rahul and Iyer to forge the middle order backbone in Kohli's absence. With Rahul playing as a pure batter, a wicketkeeper-batter will also occupy a slot in the playing XI.
England, on the other hand, were presented with a dilemma in their middle-order with all three of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, and Harry Brook presenting a strong case to feature together. Now with Brook out of the picture, the visitors will most likely name Ben Foakes as the wicketkeeper ahead of Bairstow.
It is to be noted that England have roped in Dan Lawrence as a replacement player for Harry Brook for the whole tour.
Considering all factors, the one huge factor that separates the two candidates is the place they have within the team. Kohli, being one of the world's best at what he does, is naturally the talisman figure for India, and his absence is something that cannot be just masked with the addition of another batter to the setup.
Brook's absence, on the other hand, although problematic, relieves England of a selection headache for the time being.
Who will win the five-match Test series between India and England? Let us know what you think.
