"Virat Kohli, on a cricket field, is something that everybody wants to see"- Ben Stokes ahead of India vs England 3rd Test

England captain Ben Stokes claimed that he wanted to respect Virat Kohli's privacy and not think about whether the star batter's absence was an advantage to the visitors in their ongoing Test series against India.

Kohli had initially opted out of just the first two Tests citing personal reasons. However, the BCCI has respected his eventual decision to remain unavailable for the entire series.

Here's what Ben Stokes had to say about Virat Kohli's absence in a video posted by the ECB on their website:

"I don't mean to say anything disrespectful to the question. I think when it's 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 shouldn't label that as positive or negative to our team."

He added:

"We should just let it be. It's 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 inexperience in the Indian batting in Virat Kohli's absence was evident in the first two Tests where they couldn't quite bat the opposition out of the game. With KL Rahul also ruled out of the third Test, Shubman Gill (22 Tests) is the most experienced batter in the Indian squad after Rohit Sharma (56 Tests).

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Ben Stokes on the 100-Test milestone

Ben Stokes will be playing his 100th Test match when he takes the field in Rajkot on Thursday, January 15. While it was a landmark occasion in his career, Stokes claimed that he was fully focused on the job at hand and believed that there would come a time when he would be able to reflect on his journey fully.

Here's what he was quoted as saying by BBC:

"It's just a number. I don't want it to sound like I'm not thankful for the opportunities I've had, but with milestones, it's not done until it's done. Every Test is just as important as the next one. Then there's the next one, which will be 101 - it's just one more. It's a sign of longevity, but 99, 100 or 101 doesn't make much difference."

England have made just one change to the XI that played in Visakhapatnam. They have replaced young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir with speedster Mark Wood. Ben Stokes would love to mark his 100th Test with a memorable win in Rajkot.