“Everyone in the game should respect that” – Nasser Hussain on Virat Kohli and Harry Brook skipping matches due to personal reasons

Former England captain Nasser Hussain reckons everyone in the game should respect Virat Kohli and Harry Brook’s decision to skip matches due to personal reasons. While Brook has withdrawn from the whole five-match Test series, Kohli has opted out of the first two Test matches against England.

Kohli’s withdrawal is a big blow for the team as he is the glue in the middle order but Hussain reckons everybody should respect the batter’s decision.

In his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain wrote, “My first thought is that we wish Virat well. Like Brook, he’s taken a step back for personal reasons, and everyone in the game should respect that. Some things are more important than cricket.”

“But there’s no doubt that India, and the series, will miss him. He’s also been in great form, and his absence from Thursday’s first Test at Hyderabad and next week’s second at Visakhapatnam deprives fans all over the world from watching a genius at work,” he added.

Hussain added Kohli’s absence will give some sort of chance to England in the first two Test matches.

“That said, any team would suffer when a player of Kohli’s class drops out, and it gives England a glimmer of hope in the first two Tests of a series in which they begin as clear underdogs.”

Hussain lauded the Indian players for their pure dedication to the game despite having a hectic schedule all over the year. The former right-hander also highlighted that Indian players get no breathing space as they have a huge fan following around the world.

“One other thought about Kohli’s decision. Being at the World Cup late last year was a reminder of the claustrophobic lives these Indian players lead. I was at the hotel gym one day when I saw KL Rahul being mobbed by fans on the short walk from the gym to the lifts,” he said.

“These guys get no respite from a life spent, it seems, either on the field or in their hotels, and it amazes me how few of them have felt the need to step back from the game for a while to spend time with their families. I’m full of admiration for the way in which Indian cricketers have managed to balance the amount they play, all over the world, with the goldfish-bowl lifestyle they lead,” Hussain added.

India and England will take on each other in the first Test match from 25th January onwards at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.