De Villiers’s move came after the BCCI confirmed that the former India skipper will remain unavailable for the remaining three Tests against England due to personal reasons.”Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision,” the BCCI said in a release.
Addressing Kohli’s absence during his YouTube show on Saturday, De Villiers apologised to Kohli and his family, acknowledging his “blunder” in a previous episode. He also emphasised the need for privacy regarding the matter.
“My friend Virat Kohli is still not available. I cry out to everybody to give him the privacy that he deserves. Family comes first. No one knows what exactly is going on. I am asking all of us to respect that. I did bit of a blunder in my previous show and I apologise to the Kohli family for that,” he said.
BCCI unveils new squad for remaining 3 tests against England, Virat Kohli to miss out
“Just not nice. I shared information that was not confirmed at all so. I am begging everyone out there to respect him and his family and his private time. Hopefully, we will see Virat back, happy and scoring runs. Like he always does.”
De Villiers, known for his camaraderie with Kohli both on and off the field, on Friday expressed regret over his earlier statement, acknowledging that he had shared false information about Kohli’s personal life.
“Absolutely family comes first, it’s a priority, as I said on my YouTube show. Also, I made a terrible mistake at the same time and yeah, sharing false information which was not true at all. No one knows what’s happening. That’s all I can do is wish him well,” de Villiers told Dainik Bhaskar in an exclusive interview.