“It’s His Right”: Jay Shah On Virat Kohli’s Absence From Home Series Against England

Rajkot (Gujarat) [India] : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah backed India batting talisman Virat Kohli’s decision to miss India’s ongoing Test series against England, saying he has the right to ask for personal leave.

Speaking to reporters in Rajkot on Wednesday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium ahead of India’s third Test against England, Shah said that the former India skipper is not someone who would ask for leave for no reason. He added that everyone should trust Kohli and back him.

“If a person, for the first time in a 15-year career, asks for personal leave, it’s his right. Virat is not a player who will ask for leave for no reason. We need to trust our player and back him,” Shah was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Kohli, 35, had initially withdrawn from the India team for the first two Tests of the series, citing personal reasons but later it was announced that he will miss out on the entire five-match series.

His last appearance came in the T20I series against Afghanistan earlier in January.

“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision,” said a statement from the board.

Meanwhile, when the BCCI secretary was asked whether Kohli would be part of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in June, Shah replied: “We will talk about him [soon].”

Shah also confirmed that India skipper Rohit Sharma would lead the ‘Men in Blues’ in the forthcoming extraordinary T20 event.

“Rohit has the ability, we know. As he showed in the ODI World Cup where we won 10 matches in a row until the final. I am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in Barbados,” he added.

India’s last major trophy win was back in 2013 when they beat England to win the ICC Champions Trophy in the UK. Since then, India has shown incredible performances across ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC T20 World Cups and the finals of the ICC World Test Championship, but has fallen short every time of capturing the gold.

The ICC T20 World Cup will kick off on June 1 and will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the US. India has been placed in Group A alongside Ireland, Pakistan, Canada and the US. The Men in Blue will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5. Their second game of the tournament will be against arch-rival Pakistan on June 9. The final two games will be against Canada and USA on June 12 and June 15 respectively.

Meanwhile, the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium was on Wednesday renamed after veteran cricket administrator and former first-class cricketer Niranjan Shah.