"Great competitor" - Brendon McCullum says they are ready for Virat Kohli's potential comeback ahead of IND vs ENG 3rd Test

England head coach Brendon McCullum stated that they are ready to tackle Virat Kohli ahead of his potential return in the third Test of the ongoing five-match series. The former New Zealand captain rated the former Indian skipper as a great competitor and reckons bowlers have to earn their success against him.

Kolhi had opted out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons and there remains uncertainty around him featuring in the third, beginning on February 15 in Rajkot. The right-handed batter is one of the most impactful players today and averages a healthy 42.36 against England in 28 Tests, having scored 1991 runs.

Speaking to TalkSport, McCullum hoped everything is fine with Kohli's family and reckons his addition will massively boost India's squad. The 42-year-old elaborated:

"Virat's one of the greatest players of the game has seen. No doubt it improves this squad. As we have said throughout, the depth in Indian cricket, the talent in India is immense. If Virat is coming back... we hope everything is well with his family. We will look forward to that challenge too. He is a great competitor. I know him very well and I enjoyed playing against him, I enjoyed our team playing against him. And if you have success against the best, I am sure you have earned it."

With Shreyas Iyer getting middling scores in both matches, the 35-year-old is likely to take his spot should he return for the third Test.

"The development of the young spinners has been fantastic" - Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum and Shoaib Bashir. (Credits: Getty)

McCullum went on to hail the development of the young spinners in England's squad as a massive plus and reckons adaptability to conditions will be critical. He said, as quoted by the BBC:

"The development of the young spinners has been fantastic. Not just their skillset but their passion to want the big moments. The pitches in the first two Tests have been very different and they needed different styles of play. I'm sure the third Test will be different again. We've just got to be sure we're adaptable."

With Jack Leach missing the second Test, the inexperienced trio of Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir, and Tom Hartley bowled beautifully on a benign surface. They combined for 15 wickets across the two innings in the second Test.