Indian cricket team star batter Virat Kohli opted out of the first two Test matches of the five-match series against England citing 'personal reasons'. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the news on Monday and said that the replacement will be named in the near future. In the official statement, BCCI also urged the media and fans to respect Virat's privacy and not speculate on the reason behind his absence. Legendary England batter Kevin Pietersen echoed similar sentiments on social media as he support Virat and said that people should respect it if a sportsperson pulls out due to personal reasons.

"If a sportsman pulls out for personal reasons, RESPECT IT! End of!" Pietersen posted on X.

Earlier, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday confirmed that star batter Harry Brook will miss the India Test tour due to personal reasons.

ECB released a statement to announce Brook's absence - "Harry Brook is set to return home with immediate effect for personal reasons from the England Men's Test tour of India. He will not be returning to India. The England selectors will confirm a replacement player for the tour in due course."

Recently, Kohli also skipped the first T20I game against Afghanistan due to "personal reasons".

He had taken a short break, again for personal reasons, during India's tour of South Africa where he missed an intra-squad practice game and flew to London, within days after arriving in South Africa.

The last time he took a break, which was not linked to any injury, during a Test series was a paternity leave in 2021 when his daughter Vamika was born. He only played the first Test of that series.