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England Test skipper Ben Stokes opined that he does not want to label star India batter Virat Kohli's absence from the series due to personal reasons as a positive or negative for his team, pointing out that him not being there is a broader loss for cricket.
India and England will lock horns in the third Test in Rajkot from Thursday onwards. The fourth Test kickstarts in Ranchi on February 23 The fifth and final Test of the series will be played in Dharamsala from March 7. After missing the first two Tests, Virat will now miss the remaining three Tests as well due to personal reasons. During the post-match press conference, the 32-year-old asserted that a lot of cricketers miss the sport due to personal reasons and one should not label it as positive or negative. "I do not mean to say anything disrespectful to the question. I think when it is situations like these, when someone is missing a big series and a lot of cricket due to personal reasons, which we are not sure of, we should not label that as positive or negative to our team," Stokes said in the pre-match press-conference. The experienced cricketer further stated that Kohli is one of those player whom fans wants to see playing. "We should just let it be. It is a broader loss for cricket. I wish Virat whatever he is going through all the best, I wish he comes through it. Virat Kohli, on a cricket field, is something that everybody wants to see," the all-rounder added. England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named the playing eleven for the third Test match against India in Rajkot, as pacer Mark Wood replaced Shoaib Bashir in the playing squad. The series is currently level at 1-1. "The Three Lions have made one change with Mark Wood replacing Shoaib Bashir," the statement from ECB said. Skipper Ben Stokes will play his 100th Test match for England at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. "Captain Ben Stokes is set to make his 100th Test appearance in Rajkot," it added. The third Test will commence on February 15 in Rajkot while the fourth Test kickstarts in Ranchi on February 23 The fifth and final Test of the series will be played in Dharamsala from March 7. Heading into the third Test India will be without the experienced wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul as the player was ruled out of the match. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday named Devdutt Padikkal as Rahul's replacement for the third Test. England's Playing Eleven: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson. India's updated Squad for the third Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal. (ANI)
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