Kohli to miss rest of England series due to personal reasons

India have confirmed star batter Virat Kohli will miss the remaining three Tests of their series against England.

Kohli withdrew from the first two Tests, citing personal reasons, and his absence will extend into the next two matches in Rajkot (February 15-19) and Ranchi (February 23-27) and the fifth and final Test in Dharamshala on March 7-11.

With almost 9,000 Test runs and 29 centuries banked, Kohli, who averages 56.38 on home soil against England, was a big miss in India's middle order in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, although India levelled the five-match series at 1-1 with a 106-run victory in Vizag on Monday.

"It's a blow for India, a blow for the series and a blow for world cricket. It's going to be a special series, it already has been. The first two games have been fascinating," said Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain.

"Make no mistake, Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters to ever play the game. Any series and any side would miss someone of the stature of Kohli.