Kolkata : Virat Kohli will miss the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury. Kohli suffered the setback during the IPL 2026 final where he helped RCB win their second consecutive title on May 31.
India are set to play three ODIs against Afghanistan, starting from June 13 till 20.
Kohli played match winning knock of 75*(42) in IPL 2026 Final against Gujarat Titans. During the final stages of the game, Kohli was seen struggling while running, but was able to finish the game off in style. Kohli amassed a total of 675 runs in 16 matches with an average of 56.25 and a strike-rate of 165.85. The extent of Kohli’s injury is yet to be determined and BCCI is yet to officially confirm the news.
“He is out of the ODI series due to a hamstring injury,” a BCCI source told PTI.
The injury comes at the wrong time for the star batter, who was hoping to carry the form into the Afghanistan series as he aims to keep his hopes of playing in the ODI World Cup 2027 alive.
The injury also casts doubts over Kohli’s participation for the England tour, where they will play three ODIs starting from July 14 to July 19.
India named a strong squad for the three ODIs against Afghanistan, but both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya’s availability for the matches will be subject to both of them getting fitness clearance after the IPL 2026 campaign.
India are yet to confirm any new replacement in place of Kohli. It is likely that Ishan Kishan who’s already in the squad will come at Number 3 in his place.
INDIA’S ODI SQUAD FOR AFGHANISTAN SERIES
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.
