Kohli's return for England Tests in doubt; KL may get fit for Rajkot Test

The return of premier batter Virat Kohli to the Indian team for the remainder of the IND vs ENG Test series still remains unclear even as the bigwigs are mulling to have a word with the former captain about his plans at the earliestKohli is currently out of the country and it is understood that selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar or the BCCIs top brass will speak to him to get a clearer picture to find out whether he is in a position to resume national dutyKohli had taken a sabbatical from the first two Tests against England citing personal reasons Family comes first as BCCIs press release stated and Virat will only play if he feels that he is in a position to play a BCCI source in know of things told PTI on conditions of anonymityThe personal reason for which Kohli opted out of the IND vs ENG Test series is the impending arrival of his second child as revealed by his close friend and former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers on his YouTube channel De Villiers said Kohli has done absolutely the right thing by taking a breakYes his second child is on the way Its 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 peoples priority is family You cant judge Virat for that Yes we miss him But he has made absolutely the right decision said De VilliersAlso ReadVery likely that Sehwags bold prediction for two Team India youngstersShubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer who have been struggling for big runs will have to step up in the second innings of the ongoing Test against England in Visakhapatnam because KL Rahul could get fit in time for the third Test starting on February 14 in RajkotThe squad for the remaining three Tests against England will be named next week after the conclusion of the second TestShreyas Gill on notice as Rahul to returnShubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer who have been struggling for big runs in red ball format will have to buckle up and score some runs when their turn to bat come in Indias second innings at VizagIf they fail to do so KL Rahul could walk in for one of them in the third Test Rahul missed the second Test with a quadriceps injury but the word is that the Bengaluru man could be for the next match at Rajkot from February 15Both Iyer and Gill havent scored a single fifty in their last nine Test innings and time is running out for both of them with the red hot Sarfaraz Khan is sitting in the dugout and Rahuls quadricep problem getting better with each passing dayCloud over Shami JadejaHowever veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and allrounder Ravindra Jadeja could not figure in the Test series against EnglandShami was not considered for the series while Jadeja suffered a hamstring strain during the first Test at Hyderabad and he was ruled out of the ongoing second TestAs of now there is little or no chance that Mohammed Shami who is in the UK for ankle treatment and Ravindra Jadeja will be fit for the remainder of the seriesIn the case of Rahul he is getting better and a gap of a week between second and third Test will also help him getting matchready the source saidWith agency inputs