England all-rounder Chris Woakes has shared his views about Virat Kohli’s absence from the ongoing India-England Test series due to personal reasons. While saying that fans would miss watching the batting genius, he hoped that Kohli and his family were okay. Kohli was initially added to the Indian team for the first two Tests against England but he subsequently pulled out due to personal reasons. He has not been included in the Indian squad for the last three Tests as well. And, the BCCI has confirmed that he remains unavailable due to personal reasons and also added that they support his decision too.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Woakes said: “Obviously the fans will be disappointed. It would have been amazing to see Virat Kohli play in the series. I hope he is okay and his family is okay. I just hope whenever he comes back to cricket he will be in a good place. I think we have been very lucky to have him play in so many games. It’s been a great series to watch, I am sure, the guys (England Cricket Team) love playing in India. Amazing place to play cricket. I think more exciting Test matches are coming up.”

However, England fought back from a losing position to win the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. On the other hand, India registered a 106-run victory in the second Test in Visakhapatnam to level the five-match series as well. Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah was brilliant in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, scalping 6/45 in the first innings and 3/46 in the second as well.

“I have managed to keep a look at the score but could not watch it. It seems like an amazing Test series. In the last Test match, Jasprit Bumrah was the standout player, he is a world-class player. Across all the formats, he is one of the best if not the best at the moment. It’s great to see fast bowling executed well especially in this condition,” Chris Woakes concluded.

The third Test of the India vs England series will start at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15.