"Life doesn't stop because of someone coming or going" - Aakash Chopra on whether Virat Kohli's absence would cost India the Test series vs England
Aakash Chopra feels Virat Kohli's potential unavailability for the remaining three Tests against England doesn't imply that India will lose the series.
The five-match series is currently placed at 1-1, with Kohli missing both games due to personal reasons. Reports suggest that the former Indian skipper has opted out of the next two games and might also be unavailable for the final Test.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked whether Kohli's absence would cost India the series. He responded in the negative, saying (4:30):
"I won't go that far. Let's be honest, life doesn't stop because of someone coming or going. Life must go on, the show must go on. We are feeling Kohli's absence a lot, I will be very honest."
However, the former India opener acknowledged that Kohli was missed in the first two games.
"Considering the bowling standards and the sort of pitch that was there in Vizag and when we got to bat for the first time in Hyderabad, Kohli would have scored at least one 150 in the two matches because he wouldn't have stopped against this ordinary bowling, in which Rehan Ahmed gets bored," Chopra reasoned.
Chopra added that Kohli would have made the most of the seemingly weak England attack. He elaborated:
"He said he would rather get hit for four boundaries. Kohli would have hit you for four boundaries and wouldn't have also given you his wicket. Whether it's Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach or Tom Hartley, when Virat Kohli sees such a bowling attack, he says he won't score 50-70 but 150-200. That is why he is different from others."
Kohli has amassed 4144 runs at an excellent average of 60.05 in 50 Tests in India. He played a 186-run knock against Australia in his last home Test in Ahmedabad.
"You defeated Australia in Australia in his absence" - Aakash Chopra on India winning despite Virat Kohli's unavailability
![India won the Melbourne and Brisbane Tests against Australia in Virat Kohli's absence. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/02/79415-17075402348414-1920.jpg?w=500)
Citing the example of the last away series in Australia, Aakash Chopra pointed out that India have won Tests against formidable opponents even in Virat Kohli's absence. He observed (5:30):
"You are definitely missing him but his absence doesn't mean that you will lose the series if he isn't there because you defeated Australia in Australia in his absence. India actually lost in the match he was there, that was the Adelaide Test match, but after that, we broke Gabba's pride as well."
Kohli returned home for the birth of his first child after India's harrowing defeat in the first Test against Australia in Adelaide. However, the visitors bounced back under Ajinkya Rahane's leadership to win the Melbourne and Brisbane Tests, apart from drawing the third game in Sydney, to complete a memorable 2-1 series triumph.